“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:14 KJV)

I live in a farming community, and there are lots of dairy farms of all sizes everywhere. We also have a huge fair here each year, and we have another big event called a plowing match. That’s where farmers, young and old, come from all around to be a part of a plowing contest done the old-fashioned way, with horses or mules, instead of tractors. You can tell the difference between a novice and a seasoned contestant by how they plow. The rows plowed by the novice entrants are often curved and jagged. The rows plowed by the seasoned entrants are perfectly straight. This is because the novice entrant looks down at the row as he plows it, causing him to wander a bit here and there. The seasoned entrant, however, keeps his eye on a flag planted at the far end of the row he’s plowing. This makes each row perfect, without any curves or imperfections.

Press towards the mark

As Christians, we are encouraged to press toward a mark, and that mark, of course, is Jesus. The prize at the end is “the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (see the passage at the top). Just like the people in the plowing match illustration above, the better you keep your focus on Jesus, the better your result will be.

Therefore

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Col. 3:2 ESV)

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:6 ESV)

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize.” (1 Cor. 9:24)