And yet (may I say it as Paul would have?) in our culture today we seem to be in a mad rush to collect all the dung we can! Please forgive me if the language is offensive, but I'm trying to use the imagery that Paul used in Philippians. On the one hand is the quest to know Christ.
In contrast is the quest for the things of the world- cars, houses, money, power, fame, comfort....the stuff Paul describes as dung. With a contrast that dramatic it would seem that we would all be on the quest to know Christ and not the foolish quest to be the best dung collectors.And yet, it seems we have our values all messed up. I think I see it more clearly where I live than some of you might because we are in a very affluent part of the world. Nice homes, fancy cars, expensive stuff is all around and it is the quest of those I rub shoulders with every day. Imagine if I asked one of them, "So, how is the dung collecting going?" I'm sure I would see a frown, a dirty look and maybe a few words, but when compared to what is truly valuable....knowing Christ....all the stuff we chase seems rather worthless.
Knowing Christ or collecting dung? Let's see....I think Paul makes my choice obvious and yet, like everyone around me as we approach Christmas I find my focus on the stuff...the things. Lord, help me see clearly that the most precious prize is knowing you. Give me such a passion for you that everything else looks to me, as it did for Paul, like smelly worthless trash in contrast.
Knowing Jesus Christ....the ultimate prize, the best gift, the highest quest. Knowing Christ or collecting dung? Knowing Christ will last forever, in contrast all the stuff we chase after will rust, rot or burn up in just a few years. The choice is clear. I pray I never lose sight of the contrast between the two or the passion to know Jesus above all else.
4 comments:
How do we know him, as savior? as healer, as he is today? Have we got a clear picture of him as he is today, a risen savior that is here and walks among us today?
maybe we should say for him to know us. Depart from me you workers of aniquity for I never knew you. Lord know me
Like Paul, who didn't know Jesus personally, it is possible for us to know him. He already knows us, it's knowing him that changes us. That' s my quest.
good article, i like the last sentence when you say, "knowing Christ will last forever" ... Amen. In order to know Him who lives forever we also have been given eternal life ...
"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have." (John 17:3)
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