"I press on to take hold of (that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me)"
For those of us who haven't done order of operations in a while, Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. We need to understand what is in the parentheses before we can answer the question.
What is it "for" that Christ takes hold of us? What do we know about Jesus that sheds light on this question? We know, because of Jesus' prayer in John 17, that Jesus came to earth, wrapping himself in flesh, to glorify the Father (v. 1 & 4-5), Jesus is one with the Father and has been from the beginning of creation (v. 21), and it is His hearts desire that we be in complete unity with the triune God (v. 22-23). The word "for" implies three different sorts of motives for Jesus' actions. "For" is the reason that pushes Christ into action, meaning "as a result of", the end result that draws Christ to take hold of us, meaning "with the intended purpose of", and also intended to go to a recipient, meaning "intended to belong to".
"As a result of", "with the intended purpose of", and "intended to belong to"
As a result of:
Jesus takes hold of us, because he is told to do so by God the father, he only does what the Father tells him to do. (John 5:19-20)
With the intended purpose of:
Jesus takes hold of us so that we may be one with the Father, as He is one with the Father. (John 17: 22-23)
Intended to belong to:
We are intended to belong to God the Father (see Genesis-Revalation)
"That" for which Christ Jesus took hold of me = God the Father
Substituting "that" with "God the father", we understand what the goal is according to Paul.
"I press on to take hold of GOD THE FATHER!"
The goal of this human existence is certainly not fame and fortune. It's not even holiness or good works. It is a person, it is a process. The person=Yahweh, the process=sanctification by relationship.
God, I press on to take hold of you. Be that which I draw from, and that which I draw towards. Take hold of me.
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