Philippians 3:14

I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

As Hendriksen expressed it, "Paul's intense yearning and striving for spiritual perfection is expressed now under the symbolism of the familiar foot race?[26] Commentators often illustrate this passage by bringing forward vivid accounts of the ancient Olympic contests in various cities of the ancient empire; but the modern Olympics which have been brought into millions of homes through the wonder of television are just as excellent illustrations, in which the agony of defeat and the ecstasy of victory are seen as starkly today as when viewed by the apostle nearly two millenniums ago. Of course, in this verse, it is the eagerness and determination of the contestant to win which dominate the thought. See my Commentary on Hebrews 12, "The Christian Race," for a more extended look at the analogy of the Christian life compared to a foot race.