“. . . reaching forth unto those things which are before…” (Phil. 3:13b). That’s a terrific word: REACHING! It means what we use when we say “stretch.” It’s the “home-stretch”—stretching, meaning the goal is near. It means “to stretch.” Take the attitude of a race horse when we say he is on the “home-stretch.” My Grandfather owned a racing horse; she was a very good trotter, her name was Van. She was a marvelous creature, beautiful creature. My Grandfather loved horses; he liked a nice race horse, and he had a trainer named Billy, who worked for him. Remember those old fashioned sulkies with two wheels where you would sit almost on the tail of the horse? When I was little I liked to ride with him, because it was thrilling. Billy would say, “Johnny, want to ride with me?” “Yes, I sure do,” and I would get in there. Well, he went like the wind, and my breath went right out of my body, scared me to death, and when I got back, Grandpa said, “How did you like it?” I said, “He took the wind out of me!” That’s the only thing I could remember. We rode like a streak of lightning. What was that horse doing at the time? You know it could race just so far, its speed would increase and increase and increase and it would side-step the other one, and that one would side-step this one, and the other would come in … How many have ever seen them race? They are marvelous creatures. But there was always what they called, “the home­ stretch.” Remember that? That’s what this is: it means the stretch, the stretch, and Paul feels the momentum coming and he feels the necessity of the hurry, the speed, and he says, “I have to put on all there is of me in a stretch, a reaching out; just with every part of me I am reaching.” I think most of us have had a little sense of the thing. As you get a little older you will be conscious of this: I believe I am on the home-stretch of this thing. And Paul says, “I stretch; I put out all the energy I have, because the goal is in sight; the goal is in sight; here it is, and I have a little while, and I am putting on all the speed, and energy, and strength, and consecration, and prayer, and everything else there is in me to get there!” It is the stretch of the thing and it is the meaning of the word, the stretching out of all the energy that you have, to make it a realization.