No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. … I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. … He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. … Your love, Lord, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hands.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. … Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. … You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Lu 9:62; Pi 3:13-14; Jh 17:24, 2Ti 1:12, Pi 1:6, Ps 138:8; 1Co 9:24-25, He 12:1-2, He 10:36

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.