Philippians 3:10-11, “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
‘That I may know Him.’ Paul is, in many ways, the very ideal of a faithful follower in Christ, and yet here he is, 30 years into his walk with Jesus, explaining how much more he needs to learn about Him. When Paul opens up about his weakness, we begin to learn that there is great strength in admitting how far we fall short of truly knowing Christ. Paul is no stranger to suffering, as he has experienced beating, betrayals, and imprisonments during his Christian walk. However, he is not overcome by his personal suffering; rather, in his present imprisonment, he longs to know more of Christ to grow even further in his relationship with him. This might seem surprising from an Apostle with such an intimate experience of our Lord. Yet, for Paul, he still yearns for more of Christ, and so should we.
Walking with Christ is like walking alongside the rim of the Grand Canyon. From afar, this canyon is but a crevice in the ground, a beautiful, but unimposing display of multicolored rock. The closer you get to the rim, however, the deeper and wider the Canyon grows until you come right to the edge, awestruck by the sheer depth and enormity of the expanse. Likewise, the closer we come to Christ, the more mesmerizing his beauty and the deeper our desire to know him becomes.
Paul’s greatness is in how small he understands his knowledge of Christ to be. He desires, in his present suffering, to see more of Him. Let us share in this hunger to know Christ more deeply. Each and every morning, regardless of our current circumstance, whether it’s one of suffering, or of splendor and glory, we have an opportunity to reflect on the fact that God is always able to reveal more of Himself to us. His mercies are truly new every morning.
While so many out in the world look at the story of Christ and miss His saving power, for the Spirit-led believer, each morning is another opportunity to recognize the Lord’s resurrection power, his power to raise us up to new life. So, if this word of encouragement reaches you, at a time where you’ve fallen under the impression that you already know enough about Jesus – take a moment to prayerfully reflect on the fact that part of the Christian call is to never lose our sense of wonder and desire to discover more about Him. His depths are far beyond our ability to fully explore, and He creates in His saints an ongoing hunger for Him.
A quote for further reflection:
God and His love is greater than all the water in the ocean for you…
You can’t grab it all. You can’t see it all…
You can’t even begin to experience it all at once.
We just get to view small areas of its boundless limits.
We just skim the surface of it…
and occasionally dive in a few measly feet. – Corrie Ten Bloom
Kevin Park is the head Pastor at Old Goshenhoppen Reformed Church in Harleysville, Pennsylvania (www.ogrc.org), a congregation whose history dates back to 1727. Both he and his wife, Stephanie, attended Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. Together, they enjoy raising their four beautiful daughters.
