How Can I Respond to Knowing Christ?

Paul may have run races in his lifetime, but that’s not what he was referring to when he mentions a goal and prize. Instead, he was describing how we followers of Jesus should approach life. Every day we should try to be more like Christ — which is possible only with His help — and focus on our ultimate destination, heaven.

It’s easy to confuse happiness with joy. While we will not always feel happy, we can always choose joy because as Christians, the joy we experience is found in Jesus and the fact that He has saved us. (Philippians 4:4) You may not feel happy during hard times; but with God’s help you can choose to focus on Him and express joy. You can also remember that one day all wrongs will be made right.

There are a couple of ways we can actively pursue lives that reflect Jesus. First, we can pray and ask God to help us! We can also read His Word (2 Timothy 3:15), memorize His Word (Psalm 119:11), talk with Him (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) and follow the example of godly Christians (Philippians 3:17).