Arrival at the Gate is not Arrival- Philippians 3:12-14

Let me say right out of the gate (pun intended) that it can be frustrating to travel with me. Many travelers fit neatly into one of two camps: They like to arrive, clear TSA, and walk right onto the plane as its boarding; or they want to be safely at the gate at least an hour before the jet bridge opens. Typically, I fit in the latter camp. For a lot of years, it stressed me out to arrive at the airport less than an hour before my flight. Numerous scenarios would circle my mind of things that might hold me up. After all, it is plausible for a circus transport to overturn on the highway near the airport and to be caught in a stampede of lions chasing clowns down the highway. However, once I was sitting at the gate, everything seemed to take a calming posture. But arrival at the gate is not the arrival. 

“Of course, Captain Obvious!” After all, who thinks that arriving at the gate is the end of the journey? Honestly, some professing Christians I have known through the years. 

I visited some parents once who prayed for their child to be saved. The day their child trusted Jesus, the mom said, “Finally! My work here is done.” To her, salvation was getting out of hell. It was payment for sin. It was what scholars refer to as Justification. The Bible speaks of this over and again in terms of a judicial finding. But the Bible also speaks of Salvation as a process, what we call sanctification. This is the abundant life that Jesus said He came to provide for us (John 10:10). 

¹²Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 

¹³Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 

¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 3:12–14 (NASB95) 

I find it curious that the Apostle Paul seems to emphasize sanctification over justification consistently in his writings. Of course, there is a Damascus Road moment for Paul. He never loses sight of that moment when Jesus arrested his soul and Paul was saved. But there is also a consistent witness of Paul “working out” his salvation (Phil 2:12), walking out his faith (Eph 5:8), constantly expanding the reach of the gospel (Romans 15), and as in our text to consider, pressing forward toward the goal of the prize. 

I wonder if the apathy toward the faith that some describe to me isn’t rooted in a misunderstanding that making it to the gate is the end of the journey. If so, no wonder there’s no wonder in the gospel! No airport is that exciting. But if you see arrival at the gate as the starting block rather than the finish line, what great joy awaits you still as you journey throughout the land of purpose and traverse the mission in the company of grace. 

Sometimes people are shocked when I tell them that the longer I walk with Jesus, the further I realize I have to go. This doesn’t mean that I am uncertain of eternity; rather, it is a clear-eyed observation that I am a work in progress and the closer I get to reflecting holiness, the more aware I am of the unholy parts of my own life. This does not discourage me. It humbles me. It provokes repentance. It prompts movement. It reminds me that arrival at the gate is not arrival.