Why Keep Going?
Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 NASB
Upward call – Don’t you think Paul’s justification for all this work is a bit strange? “Upward call”? Now what is that? A summons to climb the hill? A shout from the mountain top? What an odd phrase (translation?). We read right past this because we’re focused on forgetting and achieving, but for what? We want the prize, of course. “If I’m a really good follower, then I’ll be rewarded, right?” Well, I’m not so sure about that. Ask Abraham. What did he get out of lĕk-lekā’? That was an “upward call” if there ever was one. But in the end, he got a place to be buried. That’s all. Oh, he had some conversations with God. That must have been an unforgettable experience. But he had lots of trials and tribulations too. Maybe he contributed to those discouraging moments, but he wasn’t spared from them. Not the kind of reward we anticipate. We want peace, tranquility, safety, and maybe a little something for retirement along the way. No, Abraham’s “calling” isn’t what we expect.
What about Paul? He was called. That encounter struck him blind. His “calling” resulted in all kinds of bad things. Imprisonment. Attempted assassination. Rejection. A long list if you care to take the time to make it. Not the kind of call one can forget; nor the kind one wants to remember. So, what are we to learn about this kind of call?
Well, first, “upward” is a mistake. The Greek is ánō. It really means “above.” It’s “used of land, mountains, atmosphere, and heaven, heaven in the NT usually in either a material (Jn. 11:41) or a religious sense (cf. tá ánō in Jn. 8:23; Phil. 3:14). The above-below distinction was important in the rabbis, with a measure of parallelism between what happens above and what happens below.”[1] So, what Paul really says is that he strives to fulfill the calling from above, that is, the invitation from God to accept the assignment he’s been given. It’s the same word used to describe the “calling” of Yeshua. God sends out a hiring notice. You and I are expected to respond. Just remember that all the notices are individually tailored. No one can accept the call for you.
So, if you know what God has asked you to do, then that effort is in itself the reward. The prize is the call because that call is precisely what you were designed to do, and nothing is more fulfilling than doing exactly what you were meant to do. That’s why you keep going! Retirement is never an option, because retirement would mean you cease to be who are were meant to be. What kind of life would that be? Oh, perhaps you already know. Boring! Unfulfilling. Meaningless. In fact, that kind of living isn’t really life at all. It’s just existing until the end comes.
Topical Index: upward call, ánō, Philippians 3:13-14
[1] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). In Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume (p. 63). W.B. Eerdmans.
Sort of like in time of war the army sends you an “invitation” to come and fight and please report to the enlistment office in 10 days…
In reality, or so it seems to me, we are all invited to repent and join the effort, war effort if you will, of restoring creation and delivering draft notices to others as instructed. Except in this instance, the Supreme Commander is our Father (the prodigal son’s type) who watches out for us day and night, and our Captain is also our loving brother who helps bare our burdens and leads us into the fight. What a glorious way of living (and dying)! Success is guaranteed, though we may not know the battle plans ourselves. Far from boring, unfulfilling, and meaningless. Thanks Skip for this reminder of where our allegiance lies.
Interestingly, the TS2009 version of the Bible supplanted the CJB in my YouVersion app. It reads like this: “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of Elohim in Messiah Yeshua (spelled in Hebrew alphabet).
I am retired from my vocational job. It has allowed me the time to truly dig in and go deeper than ever into the scriptures and their meaning in the original culture and language that they were recorded by. It’s not incorrect to say that I went back to school, and as a result have been able to discover what Roderick Logan called “the wisdom in the weeds”. (By the way, if you have church trauma in your background, please check out his book “Finding Everland”.)
I am so grateful to Adonai for how His call to me has played out. So grateful for people like Skip who refused to accept pat answers and dug in deep, and then turned to share it with others. As a result, I have a fair amount of opportunity to do that in a way that I would perhaps not if I were still “working”.
Michael Card wrote and recorded a song years ago called “Joy In The Journey”. Beautiful song beautifully sung, and I kept wondering if I would ever find the joy he sings of. There is still so much to unlearn and learn, but I’ve experienced more of that joy than ever in sharing what I’ve had the privilege to learn with others, that fellowship of the Spirit that you can tangibly feel. The journey has been hard, very hard at times. I see Him in it all now.
The high calling. To weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice. You can’t do one without the other.