Philippians 3:14 ERV “I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine because God has called me through Christ Jesus to life up there in heaven.”
Paul was an epitome of hard work and “perfection”. He was someone who threw himself completely into whatever he did. When he studied the Law, he mastered it; when he persecuted the church, he spared no one, he went from house to house! And when he became an apostle, he was the greatest of all.
He wrote that he kept running hard. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Work hard at whatever you do. You will soon go to the world of the dead, where no one works or thinks or reasons or even knows anything.” The ERV says “Every time you find work to do, do it the best you can. In the grave there is no work. There is no thinking, no knowledge, and there is no wisdom. And we are all going to the place of death.”
How successful you’ll be in what you do is really up to you. You didn’t have to be a Whizz-kid; what stops you from being a Whizz-man or Whizz-woman? When you start is not as important as the amount of effort you put into what you do. Make no mistake about it; your efforts alone will not suffice: effort without grace results in frustration. Grace too without effort is useless. Paul said, “But, because of God’s grace, that is what I am. And his grace that he gave me was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other apostles.” 1 Corinthians 15:10
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