RPG Adults
SPIRITUAL AMBITIONS
FRIDAY, MAY 26
Philippians 3:10-14
Colossians 3:1-10
“…this one thing I do…
I press toward the mark…”
SPIRITUAL AMBITIONS
When we talk about one’s ambitions, we often think of it in terms of one’s career, his life’s dreams, goals and hopes. We imagine that when we achieve what we yearn for, we shall find happiness and fulfilment. A person’s ambition can be a strong driving force which motivates him to make great sacrifices to attain what he wants. On the other hand, a person who does not have much ambition in this life will be unmotivated, lethargic, and very aimless in the way he lives his life. He will drift from one endeavour to another and will not have much drive to want to succeed in anything that he does.
It is similar in the spiritual realm. A person who has the right spiritual ambitions will be very zealous and focused. He will have the right motivation to set out to achieve all he can for God. He will be willing to deny self and suffer hardships in order to live a life that is pleasing and glorifying to God. On the flip side, we see others who may call themselves Christians, but are spiritually apathetic. They care little about their relationship with God, and just do that which is right in their own eyes, with little concern about whether their lives are lived for the Lord. We can describe such people as having little or no spiritual ambition. If they continue along this path, theirs will be wasted lives.
In Philippians 3:10-14, we see Paul sharing with us the ambitions that he now had after becoming a Christian, and what he did to attain them. He had set aside his old life, and was now striving towards a new goal, and new prize. With his heart and mind set on Christ, he strove to be the best child of God that he possibly could be.
As we study this passage, we do well to examine our own hearts and ambitions as well, to see if we too are striving for the same goals as him, or do we find ourselves uninterested in spiritual things, yearning rather for the sinful things that the world seeks after?
THOUGHT: What ambitions do I have for this life? Are they carnal or spiritual?
PRAYER: Father, may I always set my affections on things above, and not on things on the earth.