From the Pastor’s Desk

Sunday, February 20, 2022

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death.” (Philippians 3:10) If I could put this verse in three words, it would be “growing in knowing.”

This passage sums up Paul’s primary pursuit in life: to know Christ. As he was writing this Book of Philippians, he was writing from a prison cell in Rome. Paul in this personal letter in which he comes to terms with an accomplished past and a confining present.

After his past as a persecutor of God’s people and through his superior religious activities as a Pharisee, Paul came to the liberating conclusion that all is rubbish compared to knowing the Lord! (verse 8). Freed from the stagnation of yesterday’s victories and the emotional paralysis of yesterday’s mistakes, Paul knew that the only thing that ultimately counted was knowing the Lord an being obedient to His will.

Not only was his past subsumed by this singular passion, his present imprisonment cold not snatch from him the joy of knowing Christ. Prison chains could not keep him from pursuing God, nor dull his effectiveness in ministry (1:12-14). Paul’s desire to know Christ sprang from no other motive but to enjoy Him. He wanted Christ for Christ’s sake, not his own. He was a lover of God and not a user of God. And whether he moved in Christ’s resurrection power or was stretched to his last ounce of endurance, it mattered little. For Paul, it was all a part of the most fulfilling journey of all; truly knowing God.

You are loved, Pastor Don