I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of people during my life. We have been blessed to live in several different states in America. With this comes people from different cultures, and it has been a pleasure to know them. Some we know as acquaintances. These are people you know on a social or work level, but you don’t know much about what makes them tick. Then there are those you know a bit more about. You know about their family, their habits, their faith, or lack of faith, you know what foods they like, if they are a morning or night person. These are those you know about, but then there are a few that you really know. Your heart beats together, you have many of the same goals in life. You don’t have to have a conversation going to know what they are thinking. You have what some would call a kindred spirit. You are in sync with one another because you truly know each other. These relationships are few, but they are rich and full. Getting to know someone takes time. It takes effort and a level of commitment to the relationship. You plan activities where you will spend quality time together. You share your hopes, dreams, fears, and failures with this last group. It takes a lot of effort to get to know someone intimately. It is the same with knowing Jesus Christ. What are you willing to do to get to know Him in an intimate way?
Any successful relationship will require communication. It also must be two-way communication. With Christ, we must read His word to know who He is. All scripture is God-breathed and men wrote the words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We need to dig into the scriptures to understand what God requires for a relationship with Him. To gain greater understanding, find out what the words you are reading mean in their original language. There is no shortage of tools to help us. There are commentaries, Greek and Hebrew dictionaries, and it is now as simple as a click of the computer to download free tools such as E-sword. We must then do our part of communicating by praying. Prayer is us talking to God. It is good for us to acknowledge in our prayers the awesomeness of our God. It is good to spend time praising and thanking Him for all His blessings, and even for the hardships of life. Those are the blessings in disguise. There will be times when we want to run to God to talk to Him, but we don’t know what to say. Paul teaches us in Romans 8:26-27, that those are the times the Holy Spirit helps us making intercession for us. He knows our hearts and He will help us.
Romans 8:26-27 “Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
In Philippians 3:10, Paul has just finished writing about how he gave up old his life so that he can know Christ. Paul wanted experiential knowledge. He wasn’t seeking to know about Christ, he wanted to fully know Him. Many want to know and experience the justification, but they are not concerned about the sanctification process. We should be as Paul having a thirst for more and more of Christ. This thirst will come from a proper understanding of the mercy and grace extended. When we have this desire, we won’t be able to get enough of Jesus. We will want to know His character, His work, His passion, and His holiness. Knowing Him will be a consuming desire that can’t be complete until we die and stand before Him.
Philippians 3:10 “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;”
Paul understood what the resurrection meant to the Christian. It proved there was life after death and that God was in control of it. This gives hope for eternal life, and it is proof Jesus is who He said He was. This hope makes anything we go through on this earth have purpose and value. Paul wanted to understand how Jesus suffered, not just the suffering of the cross, but the mental suffering because of those who take His gift of forgiveness lightly, and the suffering he felt because of those who reject Him. Paul counted it an honor to suffer for the cause of Christ. He wanted to be identified with Christ in every way possible.
We too should want to identify with Christ in every way possible. I Peter 4:13-14 teaches us that we should rejoice at the opportunity to be a part of Christ’s sufferings. We should want to experience what He did and bear the reproach, not so we can gain some sort of reward in Heaven, but so we can know Him better. Our seeking to be like Him is evidence of our love for Him.
I Peter 4:13-14 “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.”
So, the question for us today is how much do you know Him? Have you placed getting to know Him as the highest priority in your life? If so, it will be evident in your daily life. Your time will be organized to give Him first place in your day, first place in your words and actions, and first place in your finances. He is first and there is no other rival for your love. Everything you do revolves around what He would do. We will be seeking to love the way He loves, sacrificially, generously, and honorably. This is a selfless life, not a selfish life. A life spent where everything we do is approached with Christ in mind. Living this way keeps our focus on Him and allows us to know Him better. The more we know Him the more we want to know Him. We don’t know about Him, we KNOW HIM!
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