Pressing Forward to Knowing Christ

The calendar has rolled over and with that, 2011 is now in the past. As we close in on the first week of 2012, for some of us it seems nothing has changed. For others, there is a sense of expectancy as we anticipate the unfolding of the days and months ahead and the achievement of cherished goals and dreams. Armed with a new attitude and a new resolve, we feel assured that our faith in God will continue to allow us to live purposeful and rewarding lives. Regardless of how we choose to approach the New Year, one thing we cannot afford is to be complacent.

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines complacency as "self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies." Whenever the child of God settles into this state, the enemy rubs his hands with glee. The apostle Paul demonstrated his unwillingness to be complacent when he wrote to the brethren in Philippi, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14, KJV). Like a runner exerting every bit of effort to get to the finishing line, Paul resolved to push ahead, to pursue and take hold of the prize.

In verses 7-11, the narrative speaks of the cherished prize. Here we see Paul forsaking and forgetting everything he was and had accomplished in his life. This he did "for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead."

Amidst everything else we desire for this year, what greater pursuit than to know Christ? Everything else pales in comparison. As Paul concludes, "So let those [of us] who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and hold these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also" (v. 15, The Amplified). This is a call not just to a head knowledge of Christ, but an intimate one; one that is rooted in the heart and ultimately transform the way we live. I invite all of us to pursue that above all else.