I was having a particularly bad dream bordering on a nightmare. Everyone was pointing their fingers at me and screaming how bad of a person I was. They named off a litany of wrongs I had committed. I do not remember the wrongs they listed. I do remember the utter hopelessness I felt.

Then, I gained my voice and screamed, “I am redeemed.” The voices stopped and His peace filled me. I remember waking up still feeling that peace and saying to myself, “I am redeemed.” I realized at that moment that my redemption in Christ had an additional meaning.

Besides my redemption from the penalty of sin and the power of sin, my life is in a state of redemption every day. Yes, everything they accused me of was probably true. I am not perfect and often make mistakes. Making mistakes, however, does not made me a mistake. Additionally, God has redeemed me with all my mistakes.

As I thought about my mistakes and Paul’s words that he presses on (Philippians 3:14), I realized that he did not press on to perfection as we often think we must. He did not press on to not make mistakes. He did not press on to meet other people’s expectations. He pressed on to the upward call in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, the question before us is, “What is the upward call in Christ Jesus?” I think Paul answers the question a few verses later with the encouragement,

“…let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”

Philippians 3:16

The upward call is not to some higher standard or to some prescribed standard, but to the standard “to which we have attained.” In other words, I need to live to the standard God has worked in me. Not the standard He has worked in someone else. Not the standard I may attain tomorrow. But, to the standard God has worked in me for today. Each day I am free to live for Him by faith. By the faith, He has given me. I do not have to live in despair about the mistakes of yesterday or the mistakes I may make today. God has redeemed my yesterday. He is redeeming this moment. He is redeeming this day. He will redeem my tomorrow. In other words, I do not need to perform for God or anyone else. I can press on to the upward call.

This does not mean I am free to sin. It does mean I am free not to sin. It also means that God has my back. I can just do my best and trust Him to cover all my shortcomings. I can trust Him to redeem my moments and empower me to live to the standard to which I have attained in Him. Our moments are redeemed.