The Upright Rose

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.

Philippians 3:13-16

It is very easy to determine whether a rose is in a healthy or an unhealthy condition. A healthy rose has a vibrant color; its petals are smooth, not brittle; it's upright, not wilted. Unhealthy roses show signs of decay- discoloration, crumbling petals, a noticeably drooping appearance. Which rose are you? Have you been tending to your spiritual life? Or is it showing signs of decay? Are you upright, pressing on "toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God" or are you drooping? We need to be upright roses!

The word upright can be defined as honorable, righteous, just, blameless, and according to dictionary.reference.com, "being in accord with what is right." So what does that mean exactly? Let's dissect the upright rose. In this passage from Philippians, we see a common theme- "straining forward," "press on," "toward the goal," "upward call." These suggest that we are in need of progress. We must continually reach ahead. What are we reaching toward? A prize. And what is that prize? Jesus. Eternal life. Not what we see in the here and now, but what comes after- what is for eternity. Because that is what truly matters.

How do we do this? Straining forward isn't easy. When we feel like the petals of life are crumbling beneath us, how do we press on? We hear God's call to remain upright, and we must respond*. "Let those of us who are mature think this way" (v.15). The word "mature" in the passage can also be translated as "perfect." If you're really perfect/mature, you will realize you're not yet perfect/mature*. Plain and simple: we need Jesus. We need to rely on Him.

In Philippians 1:9-11, we see another passage dealing with uprightness. We are to be pure and blameless (v.10). We need to constantly grow in Christ. We need to have a growing sense of urgency, a desire, to get to know our Creator more. Like Noah, we should walk with God- having an ongoing intimacy with Christ (Gen. 6:9). As we follow Jesus more closely, we will see an increase in uprightness within us. We will begin to see joyful obedience. We will experience a love and satisfaction like no other. This doesn't mean we will be perfect, but we need to continually see an increase in our likeness to Christ. We can only get that by spending time with Him. "Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes THROUGH Jesus Christ," and this results in "the glory and praise of God," (Phil. 1:10-11). We are not to strive to be upright for our glory, but for HIS.

This may seem impossible. We may never get where we want to be. We might feel like we can never possibly be as upright as we hope. The world is too heavy on our shoulders. Our rose is wilting and we can't seem to keep pressing on. But let us look at someone who remained "blameless and upright; one who feared God and turned away from evil", even when he lost everything he had (Job 1:1). Let's look at the life of Job. In Job 1, we see that Job was a man who had everything anyone could possibly imagine. He was beyond blessed in family and possessions. Then one day, he lost everything he had. He lost his children and his wealth. Read Job 1:13-19 to read the extent of his loss. He tore his clothes, shaved his head, and fell to the ground....and what did he do next? He WORSHIPED. And he goes on to say this:

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord

Job 1:21

He had grief, YET he trusted in the Lord. He held a posture of grief YET he worshiped.

So even when your whole world seems to be crashing down; even when you feel like you fail time after time again; even if you feel the pressure of this life threatening to wilt your rose, don't let it! Take it all to Jesus! Glorify Him through it all! And you will remain an Upright Rose, with the strength of Christ, "straining forward to what lies ahead."




*ESV Study Bible footnotes Phil. 1 and 3

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