Ever since the day when Christ called to him from on high — stopped him at the gate of Damascus, struck from his hand the weapon of persecution, and shrivelled up in his bosom, as by a lightning flash, the commission of the High Priest — ever since that day, which had turned his former gains into losses, and made him count his own righteousness as mere refuse for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord, he has been running the race set before him, not as uncertainly, but with a definite adherence to its rules and a resolute determination for success ; not counting himself to have apprehended, not relaxing his efforts as he nears the goal, but straining every sinew and nerve to tht
36o PRESSING ON
uttermost, if so be he may at last reach the winning-post and attain the imperishable wreath which hangs thereon. " This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind " — that part of the course which has already been traversed — and reaching forth unto, straining every power to the uttermost after, those things which are before — that remainder of space which lies still between me and the goal — I press toward the mark — I press on according to (by the rule and direction of) the mark or goal — for the prize of the high calling — what is elsewhere spoken of as the heavenly calling — of God in Christ Jesus.
^ In olden times games were held in Greece in honour of its gods. They were held around the tombs of heroes and of brave men, as part of a religious festival. Every fifth year such games were held at Elis, in Olympia (the periods between were called Olympiads, and the years were counted from them), and every third year similar games were held at Corinth, and called Isthmian games, from the isthmus that there joins the peninsula to the mainland. Men came from every part of Greece to con- tend in these games, or to witness them ; but no one who was not a true-born Greek was allowed to share in them. The spectators sat on benches, raised one above the other, round an open space strewed with sand, called the stadium. It was about six hundred feet long; and in this open space the games took place. They consisted of chariot races, horse races, and foot races ; there were wrestling matches and boxing matches, contests in throwing the heaviest weights to the longest distance, contests also between singers, painters, sculptors, poets, and musicians. Ten judges were set apart as umpires of the games ; they were chosen ten months beforehand, and received purple dresses in , which they sat on raised chairs, to watch that the rules of the games were observed, and to award the prizes, ^im-champions V' were. the_ picked men of Greece: they prepared themselves with the utmost care for some months beforehand, knowing that they should have to meet others perfect in their own line. They had to observe the greatest temperance that they might be in full health, choosing such food and drink as would make their muscles firm and tough, not heavy and fleshy. They had to practise their exercises constantly, bathing frequently, and rubbing their bodies with oil to keep their joints supple, fin short, there was no chance of winning a prize unless the candi5a,te was willing to make his preparation the business of his life./l
^ R. Twigg, Sermons, 284.
PHILIPPIANS HI. 13, 14 361
2. There are some people who define Christian perfection in this life as a rounded and complete thing, as the reaching of the " goal — the very thing Paul declared he had not attained. They define it as though the life had reached its final form once for all, as though we are perfectly carved into our final beauty and already dwell in perfect holiness. Such a conception must of necessity lead to self-complacency, and close the vision of a higher goal in the present life. But that is not the meaning of this passage. According to Paul, as many as be perfect have the vision of a far-away goal. Christian perfection, according to this \ \J criterion, is that stage of life which realizes most intensely its K
imperfection. When a man thinks he is perfect^and complete, \
l3£_i8 a great distance from peffectidn. When a man comes to the conclusion that there is nothing more to do for his life, you may depend upon it that there is a great deal to do. The perfect man as here defined is the man that is least satisfied with him- self, the man that sees vast stretches before him to be traversed, the man that knows there are shining heights yet to climb, that ^^* there are glories unspeakable ahead.
^ Sir Joshua Eeynolds could not look at any picture remain- ing in his studio without wishing to retouch it here and there. The forms on the canvas were not as fair as the visions in the painter's mind. Such dissatisfaction always gives ground for the hope that "the best is yet to be." The same principle holds good in the spiritual life. The outlook is ominous where there is not a profound self-dissatisfaction.^
I.
St. Paul with his Back to the Past.