I’m a sucker for talent shows. Not the type where they mock and ridicule people who think they have talent . . . but the type where they give those with legitimate talent a shot. And, on the continuum of competitors, there is the guy, or girl, on the one end, who think they deserve to be there and that it’s the world’s good fortune that it finally gets the chance to discover how talented this guy, or girl, really is. Buzzer . . . 3 X’s. On the other end of the continuum is the performer who is truly thankful for the opportunity to compete . . . often they don’t know the depths of their talent . . . they’re surprised by the affirmation from the audience and the commendation from the judges. And, should they move on to higher rounds, they still maintain a humility which says, “Should I go home tonight, I’m grateful for the chance I’ve had and am privileged to have shared my talents on this stage.” Not gonna lie to ya’ . . . I like those people . . .

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. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.     ~ Paul    (Philippians 3:12-14 ESV)

Paul considered himself as running a race (1Cor. 9:24, 2Tim. 4:7). This race, the ultimate . . . no, perhaps the only true and legitimate “reality show” . . . this race was less about competing with others than it was about getting to the finish line. And if anyone deserved not to be “voted off” it was Paul. But Paul never lost the sense of the privilege that was his to even be running the race . . . for he considered it an “upward call.”

That’s the idea that’s grabbed me this morning . . . that the Christian life is an upward call.

I sense sometimes that some believers view the command to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1) as the price they have to pay for being saved. Sort of, if you want heaven, then you there’s just some stuff you’re gonna have to do, or not do, on earth. Paul, however, viewed the call, not as a price to pay but, as a privilege to respond to.

Paul, who considered himself the foremost of sinners (1Tim. 1:15) never lost the humility, born out awe and wonder, that Jesus had called him . . . that Jesus had met with him . . . that Jesus had given him a new heart and a new mind to go along with his new name. Paul pressed on not because he had to . . . but because he got to. Paul ran the race not because he kept looking over his shoulder to see if some angel was going to kick his behind if he slowed down . . . but Paul wholeheartedly engaged in the race because of what was ahead . . . the prize before him. He had been privileged to be put in the race . . . and he would run it. He had been blessed to receive the upward call and he would, by God’s grace, pursue it.

I think it was a rush for Paul to “strain forward to what lies ahead” because it couldn’t be done in his own power and strength . . . instead he had to figure out how to use all the tools that had been given him as part of the call . . . experiencing the exhilaration of actually leveraging that which was promised him in order to become a “partaker in the divine nature” (2Peter 1:4). His mind actually being renewed by God’s word . . . His life actually being transformed by the indwelling Spirit. Learning to recognize more the Spirit’s leading . . . being more aware that the thoughts forming in his puny human brain were actually the mind of Christ. Experiencing the reality of the dynamic available to the body of Christ when it came together to be a holy temple for God . . . a dwelling place through His Spirit. I think it was a thrill for Paul to run the race.

Me in Christ . . . Christ in me . . . this is an upward calling. Not something I “qualified for” because of my abilities . . . not something to boast in . . . not a price to pay for sins forgiven. Instead, it is something I’ve been “entered into” because of who Christ is and what Christ has done . . . something to be humbly counted as a blessing to be part of . . . something to be earnestly responded to as a privilege to participate in.

And, should I go home tonight, I’m just thankful for the opportunity to have run the race . . . to pursue the upward call . . . by His grace . . . for His glory. Amen?