Do You Know Him?, Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Reading: Philippians 3:4-8, 4If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. 7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”
Paul in his letter to the Philippians confessed all of the “good” things that he had done but stated that he counted it all loss and considered it a heap of manure compared to the “surpassing greatness of knowing Christ”. Interestingly, the part of “knowing” Christ is very difficult to determine in someone else. I can take a guess at how well you know Christ by your actions but I don’t truly KNOW. I’ve seen many people who appear to know Christ very well but are involved in despicable sin indicating that they do NOT know Him well. It is very internal with external consequences. How well do YOU know Jesus?
Imagine us all being back in middle school. I see a girl that I like and I walk up to you and ask you to give her a note, which is folded into a cool little shape. Inside this note, the girl reads, “Do you like me? □ Yes □ No”. Imagine she checks “yes” and a few years pass and we’re in high school. Again, I walk up to you and say that I like this same girl. I hand you a note and ask you to give it to her. Inside the note, the girl reads, “I like you A LOT. Do you like me A LOT? □ Yes □ No”. A few years pass and we are now in college. I come up to you again and ask you to deliver a note to this same girl. When she gets the note, she reads, “I love you! Do you love me? □ Yes □ No”. Next comes my intent to marry this same girl, so, what do I do? Yes, I write a note to give to you to deliver. Although we may think this whole scenario is absurd. We all too often treat our relationship with our Savior the same way. Any knowledge we have of Him is through someone else. We have not truly pursued the “surpassing greatness of knowing Christ”.
What will you do today to know Christ more, to truly know Him?
REVIEW
What were you able to do today to know Jesus more?
How did this impact your walk with Him today?
I feel that what you see is what you get. I myself try not to act any different at church than I do at home or out with friends. If Christ is in us, it should reflect at all times, not just when we want to impress someone. Kindness and compassion should radiate out of us at all times, not just the Christmas season. After all, aren't there homeless and the less fortunate with us all the year? If we are sold out to Christ then we are crucified and raised with Him. Not on our terms but on His!! Our utmost goal in this life is humankind and to tell of the story of the Savior.
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