Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things: And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
We have been freed from our past self, our past mistakes, our past lifestyle so that we can put on our forgiven self, our new mission in becoming worthy disciples and children of God, and a new lifestyle that glorifies our Heavenly Father. Jesus has already made us ready so that we can continue his work here. We can all be thankful and do everything in the spirit of joy because we know that God will take us to heaven when our time comes... and it'll be free of sin, evil, disappointment, and suffering. I can't even imagine what that is like.
However, this type of thinking really does require maturity, as Paul states in this passage. It's not suppose to be an easy task to complete. It's something that we have to continue pressing towards, despite all the obstacles and hurdles that may come in our way. There may be times when we get lost and blinded by the earthly temptations of the world, but God will pull us out of that hallucination and clear our minds from all the wrong things. We just need to continue living up to what Jesus has given us as a gift: a life that has been cleansed and forgiven so that we are adopted into God's family.
Philippians 3:20-21
But our citizenship is in heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
It'll be a glorious day when Jesus takes my body and gives it new life in heaven.
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