"Well begun is halfway done"

from the movie, Mary Poppins

 

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:14, ESV

 

The second day of any big undertaking is filled with mixed emotions. We certainly have the feeling that we are in the process of accomplishing something quite important, but we also have the reality that the task is really, really large. This is why it is critical that we keep our purpose firmly in mind. We are doing nothing less than trying to find out the will of God so that we can actually do it. We are doing our very best to make sure that we and our loved ones are saved.

 

Perhaps we have has similar resolutions in the past to read the Bible, but the resolve quickly left once the enormity of the task set in. Because it was just something that we knew we should be doing, but were not fully convinced as to why we should do it, our determination to accomplish the goal was soon replaced by reasonable arguments as to why it wasn't really necessary.

 

Excuses from, "I'll just let the preacher tell me what I need to know, after all, he's had years of study", to "No one can really understand the Bible, so why try?" will begin to turn into convincing reasons as to why reading God's Word isn't all that good of an idea afterward.

 

So, we need to remember why we are reading: We want to be saved! We want our loved ones to be saved and would like to influence and encourage them in the right way. Salvation is far too important to leave in the hands of someone else, nor is it to be approached in a casual manner suggesting that it is not all that pressing of a matter. Further, the gifts of God's grace and Christ's sacrifice are worthy of such effort. And if that is not enough, there is this command:

 

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

II Timothy 2:15, NIV

 

We are to do our best to correctly handle to word of truth! There is no other source of this truth than the Bible, and there is no other effort than "our best" that will be acceptable. Keep your goal in mind - you are going to Heaven! Now, why not offer a prayer of thanks for God's Word and begin Day 2 of your new life by reading Matthew 8-14. You will find in these chapters a man who is worthy of turning your life over to. And this man, Jesus, was much more than just a man - He is the Son of God who came into this world so that we might have an opportunity to be cleansed of our sins and live forever with Him!

 

I think we will all agree that these are pretty convincing reasons to "press on to the goal".