To Know Him

"[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in the same way c ome to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]  That if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body]. Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasps) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own. I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my own aspiration]; forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward" (Philippians 3:10-14, Amplified).

Setting goals in life is very important. It helps to maintain focus and achieve success. There is nothing more exciting than setting a goal and reaching it.Paul shares with us his goal which is to know Christ, to be like Him and to be all Christ would have Him be.

Knowing Christ should be the goal of every believer and just like Paul we should pursue it with our whole heart. There is a difference between being familiar with someone and really knowing them.We see people everyday to whom we nod, wave, and greet pleasantly. We at times converse about the weather, jobs and the days events, but we can not say we really know them.

This is not how our relationship with Christ should be. He should be more than a familiar name, someone to sing songs about or an addendum to our prayers. To know Him is to be intimate with Him and have a deep understanding of His ways, thoughts and purposes. To know Him would free us of the many anxieties we have over what we perceive as mis-steps, mistakes and failures. We would see from His perspective and understand that"... all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose" (Romans 8:28, Amplified).

We should take heed to Paul's example and let nothing hinder us from taking our eyes off the goal of knowing Christ. With the single-mindedness of an athlete in training, we must lay aside anything that may distract us in our walk with Him: even past failures and mistakes. Because dwelling on the past will only hinder our progress and keep us from moving forward into a more fuller and meaningful life in Him.