The Upward Call!
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14
So what exactly is the upward call (or the high calling as the KJV puts it)? It is our call to Christ Himself. I love how Strong’s Lexicon defines it – “calling is of the divine invitation to embrace the salvation of God.”
In order to press on toward that goal of heaven, which is the prize for our calling, Paul did a quick inventory check before this verse was penned. Back up to Phil. 3:7 and notice the things that Paul counted as loss – all the things that he used to count as gain. Paul enumerated these things in verses 5 & 6. He was a Jew of Jews, from the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee, a persecutor of the church, and was zealous in keeping the law. Now this is quite a list for a young Jewish man as Paul before his encounter with Christ. But Paul is saying – all that education, all that legalism, and all that pride in family line – I count it as loss for the sake of Christ.
Furthermore, Paul lost all of his material possessions. (v. 8). As a matter of fact, he called those things garbage when compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord. For goodness sake, he was sitting in jail as he penned this letter to the Philippians.
Oh, but friends, the upward calling is so worth it. John 17:3 tells us, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” What a change in mindset, right? Most of the time we think of eternal life as a big, beautiful mansion, streets of gold, and a glassy sea. But this verse tells us that knowing God is the main attraction of heaven. Paul was basically telling us the same thing in v. 10, “…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection…”
We can try to gather up and hoard all the riches, education, and prestige as possible living in this world. But really friends, this stuff is temporal. If you tell me how a person spends their time and money, I can tell you what they value. Paul is trying to tell us to invest, or lay hold of, the things that really matter. A relationship with God through His Son is the upward call! If you are a Christ follower, how are you spending your time and money? Would it leave a trail that leads straight to Jesus?
Here is the thing about the upward call – you are not guaranteed to hear it for the rest of your life. God calls each of us individually and He has chosen us before the foundation of the world (Ephesian 1:4). So many people think that they will wake up one morning and “decide” to be saved. Yes, there is a decision to be made, but only at the point that God is calling you. No one comes to Jesus unless God draws them (John 6:44). So what about – is God extending to you the upward call of His son Jesus. Don’t wait – today is the day of salvation!