That I May Know Him

Philippians 3:8-10, “… I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of ALL things, and count then but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having righteousness of my own derived from the Law… THAT I MAY KNOW HIM and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;”

This passage and the message it contains has crossed my path endlessly for nearly a week now. Just yesterday I read it in Oswald Chamber’s Utmost for His Highest. Of it Oswald says, “A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Christ. A spiritually vigorous saint never believes that his circumstances simply happen at random, nor does he ever think of his life as divided into the secular and the sacred. He sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him.”

I am so guilty of losing sight that life’s ONLY purpose is to know Christ. All around we are surrounded by pressures to escape life and circumstance. Even within Christian communities there are messages of better days ahead, walking in the power of God for healing or body, relationship, or finances… all part of being in relationship with God, but at what expense. Are we as Christian concerned most with  God’s power and love bringing us comfort, or are we most concerned with knowing (truly knowing) Christ?

On most days I drive a 1998 Monte Carlo to and from work. Invariably I will see someone in a $100,000 Mercedes. Why does the thought always enter that “I wish I could afford one of those?” Why does the song enter my mind, “Oh Lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?”

When I go to work, why is it that most days are about how much money can I make instead of what does today show me about Christ? Better yet, when someone sees any of my struggles why do they encourage me to have more faith, or even say that God has a better plan?

God’s plan for today is exactly what today is. It is to show me, and you, Christ in this exact circumstance. My day is not a failure because I drive a jalopy and the other person’s day is not a success because they drive a Mercedes. My day is not a success because I make more money. My day is a success when I see Christ in it. Today is successful when nothing else matters except that I was aware He is in it and interacting with me.

Read what Paul says. He counts everything, good and bad, as nothing in comparison to knowing Christ. His behavior when compared to the standard of biblical laws is immaterial in His relationship to Christ. His day was neither successful nor unsuccessful based on the absence of sin, but was a success based on his awareness of Christ. Paul found the place that happiness was only joyful when sharing Christ joy, and where suffering was also joyful when sharing Christ sufferings. “Ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me.” (Psalms 23:4)

I/we have got to stop evaluating ourselves and others based on good day and bad days, whatever that definition is to you. And we have got to evaluate ourselves based on did we encounter Christ today. Life is not about self-actualization or self-realization. Christianity is not about us becoming “better people.” In fact it is not about us or our circumstance at all. It is only about Him and do we know Him.