The Prize
In today’s world, a person’s achievement in life is
based on how successful he was or is in the sphere of the visible world: the
methods of achieving this success is not queried as long as one is. To be successful
is a beautiful thing; it is what everyone craves for and lives for. We all want
to experience it in all spheres of our lives. It is the motivation and drive
for all human beings to push themselves to excel at whatever they do. Success
is measured by the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. As a result, success in
all its glory comes with its own trappings and of course, pitfalls!
Unfortunately, many destinies are buried today in the grave of success. So many
would have still being alive, be vibrant for God and vibrant husbands, wives,
sons, daughters and friends if not for ‘success’. Being drunk with the wine of
success or the search of it and blinded to all that is Christ, have led many into
a sucking vault of death: destroyed dreams, aborted destinies and the likes. Don’t
misunderstand this; being successful in all our endeavors is the primary desire
of God for us His children. He promised us in the Book of Joshua 1:8 that as we
meditate on His word, we will make our way prosperous. Let’s pull back a bit
and understand what this success the Lord is talking about, what should success
mean to us as children of God? Is our success limited to the transient world
alone? What should be the standard by which we measure our successes? If God
wants us to be successful in all we do on earth, it then follows that success
is a tool for us to attain the eternal glory that has been made ready for us at
the end of our journey here on earth. Thus, it is impossible for us to have a
deep and clear understanding of what success is without us referring to what
Jesus Christ said and what He is still saying today. This is so important today
because of our constant (mandatory) interaction with the world and its way of
doing things, if we are not careful may cause us to be misaligned with God by redefining
certain truths about our journey here on earth.
In Luke 10:17-20 we see the Lord Jesus bringing this issue to the fore, when the disciples He sent came reporting with great joy and a sense of achievement at the exploits they displayed through the authority given them by the Master. The Lord celebrated their successes but warned that their sense of achievement should rather lay in the fact that their names are written in Heaven. This was a caution to make them aware that the ultimate success or achievement was the fact that their names are written in Heaven not that the demons bowed to them. This was the prize! There is a prize! Paul saw this, that was why he was not interested in the things he gained or lost but had his gaze fixed on an eternal prize that was imperishable; the heroes of Hebrews 11 equally saw this - these were not carried away with the successes achieved in the physical, they came to the conclusion that it was nothing compared to the prize that awaits them if they can successfully navigate the dark world they were in at the time. We too must have the same desire and focus! It is not only about being successful or pursuing success on the earth, we must focus on the eternal prize that is reserved for those that successfully navigate this world and still remain true to Faith: “The one who pursues righteousness and faithful love will find life, righteousness, and honor” (Proverbs 21:210). We will be the most miserable if all our pursuit of success is only to live an enviable life on earth alone. Friend, there is an eternity, which as sons of God we must prepare for and spend with God – the tool of success is to help us chart this course and not to distract us from this course and prize. It then follows that we must go through this journey with the mindset that everything we do or possess that the world sees and shouts “success” is to prepare us to reign with Jesus Christ at the end of our journey on earth, so that we would hear Him tell us “well done My faithful servant”. Now, that is success, the prize! God bless you.
In Luke 10:17-20 we see the Lord Jesus bringing this issue to the fore, when the disciples He sent came reporting with great joy and a sense of achievement at the exploits they displayed through the authority given them by the Master. The Lord celebrated their successes but warned that their sense of achievement should rather lay in the fact that their names are written in Heaven. This was a caution to make them aware that the ultimate success or achievement was the fact that their names are written in Heaven not that the demons bowed to them. This was the prize! There is a prize! Paul saw this, that was why he was not interested in the things he gained or lost but had his gaze fixed on an eternal prize that was imperishable; the heroes of Hebrews 11 equally saw this - these were not carried away with the successes achieved in the physical, they came to the conclusion that it was nothing compared to the prize that awaits them if they can successfully navigate the dark world they were in at the time. We too must have the same desire and focus! It is not only about being successful or pursuing success on the earth, we must focus on the eternal prize that is reserved for those that successfully navigate this world and still remain true to Faith: “The one who pursues righteousness and faithful love will find life, righteousness, and honor” (Proverbs 21:210). We will be the most miserable if all our pursuit of success is only to live an enviable life on earth alone. Friend, there is an eternity, which as sons of God we must prepare for and spend with God – the tool of success is to help us chart this course and not to distract us from this course and prize. It then follows that we must go through this journey with the mindset that everything we do or possess that the world sees and shouts “success” is to prepare us to reign with Jesus Christ at the end of our journey on earth, so that we would hear Him tell us “well done My faithful servant”. Now, that is success, the prize! God bless you.
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