Indentations of my fingers probably remain to this day on every roller coaster I have ridden. From that first big drop until the ride is over, you couldn’t pry my hands off that safety bar. Why? Because I prefer to stay inside the car! It’s important to me!
If you are a Christian, Jesus has a grip on you. Paul wrote, “I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (Philippians 3:12). Paul heard and obeyed the gospel of Jesus just as you did (Acts 9:28 & 22:16). His sins were washed away, and Jesus “laid hold of” him as one might pluck a drowning man from the water. Jesus has the same grip on you, and He does not want to let you go. The Good Shepherd says of His sheep, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).
Does this mean Paul couldn’t possibly fall from grace? Not at all, for he said he pressed on so that he might lay hold of that for which Christ laid hold of him. Why did Christ lay hold of him? So Paul could be saved and go to Heaven. Why was Paul pressing on? So he might lay hold of (get a grip on) eternal life. In the very next sentence He stated: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have laid hold of it.” Paul knew he wasn’t there yet. But He was pressing on!
Pressing on begins with letting the past be the past. Paul had a rich heritage in Judaism that he gave up for Jesus – but he didn’t bemoan it. Too, he had committed grievous offenses against Christ and the church. All of that, however, was in the past. Instead of dwelling on it, Paul reached “forward to those things which are ahead.” He pressed on “toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).
Jesus has a grip on you. You must strive to get and keep your grip on eternal life. While it is possible for you to surrender your grip, you certainly need not do so! Should you fall, it won’t be because Jesus lost His grip; it will be because you surrendered yours.
