Not that I have already I obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Phil 3:12-16, ESV

Are you perfect?

Or are you mature enough to realise that you’re not?  If you still think you are perfect in anything, then God will reveal to you that you’re not.  As God reveals himself to us we see just how far away from perfection we are, in the same way as Isaiah was struck by his sin when he was confronted with God’s holiness (Isaiah 6).

Paul makes it very clear to his readers that he isn’t perfect and that he doesn’t see himself as being.  He still sinned and struggled day by day with life in the world.  He hadn’t been made completely into the likeness of Jesus – he was still a work in progress – just as we are.

So what is he doing to achieve this and how?  He sets his sights heavenward, not looking backwards at what has happened or trying to see what is coming next, but focusing his eyes on Jesus – the one who has achieved the goal, who has lived a perfect life by doing exactly this, as the writer to the Hebrews writes:

…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2b

So what about us, where are we setting our sights?  Are we focused on heaven or are we drawn away by regret over what has happened or worries about what might happen?

We mustn’t live by regret or worry letting it suck our energy into things that we can’t change or control, instead we need to refocus on Jesus, letting his Spirit work in our lives directing us, convicting us and transforming us.