“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (Philippians 3:12).
All athletes are competitors. They are “in it to win it”. The parallels between sports and the battlefield are many. Every team or army has one objective: to win. One doesn’t join a war to lose. And an athlete doesn’t participate in competitions to get second place. The marathon is a long race covering 26 miles 385 yards. It was introduced at the 1896 Olympic Games to commemorate the legendary run of Pheidippides from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens in 490 B.C.
The parallels between running races and fighting battles were realities in the Apostle Paul’s own day and served as good illustrations of the Christian life. In his letters to the churches, he often jumped back and forth between comparisons of the Christian life to running, boxing, and fighting. He even uses these illustrations in back-to-back verses: “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules” (2 Tim 2:4-5).
In Philippians 3:12, he says the Christian life is like running a long race. What does it take to compete as a Christian in the game of life? Paul identifies three attributes of the Christian athlete.
First, he says the Christian athlete must have the right mentality. Kobe Bryant referred to his competitive edge as the Mamba Mentality. Perhaps above all else in modern sports, Kobe stood out for possessing a relentless work ethic. That’s part of the Mamba Mentality. Paul tells Christians that we too must have a certain mentality in living the Christian life by pointing to himself as an example when he says, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect.”
In the previous verse he identifies the “this” as the resurrection from the dead. When Christians are raised from the dead at Jesus’ final coming, they are perfected to look like their Lord. “[B]ut we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (I Jn 3:2).
“Practices are meant to be competitive," Bryant says. "If your practices aren't more competitive than the games themselves, you're doing the wrong thing.” This is true for Christians. We are to put ourselves thru the sanctified drills of Bible absorption, prayer, the sacraments, and church fellowship. This mentality not only makes us ready to face the challenges and trials of life both on and off the field; it also prepares us to meet our Lord. We are not saved by our good works, but good works are a result of being saved. And true Christians have the right mentality of working toward greater holiness in this life.
Second, the Christian athlete must have the right tenacity. In short, he or she must be determined: “but I press on to make it my own”. The wording Paul chooses has the idea of “to pursue”, or “to run swiftly in order to catch”. He’s speaking about tenacity – a persistent determination. True Christians do not throw the towel in or sit down on the field of life and give up. Rather, they are determined to finish strong. Having the right tenacity means we also have mobility. Scripture tells us to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb 12:1).
Like a runner in the ancient games, we are to lay aside our baggy garments, pull up our loincloth, (or chuck the whole thing if necessary!) in order to be mobile and free in our Christian pursuits.
Third, we find that the only way to stay determined is to have the right security. In other words, the reason we are “in it to win it” is because we know we will win it! Paul bases the reason for his hard Christian running in what has been promised to him and all Christians: “because Christ Jesus has made me his own”.
Christians are in hot pursuit of Jesus only because He has already sovereignly pursued them to be His own. “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (Jn 6:37). Running with this security will allow us to say with the apostle Paul when he came to the end of his life: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Tim 4:7-8).
Paul was “in it to win it”. He finished well. How are you running? How will you finish?