That I May Know Him: Seeking Christ Above Every Other Love
That I May Know Him
By Brenette Wilder
“Philippians 3:10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death ─ NIV.”
Oh, the nature of the Lord! Both powerful and yet humble. Loyal unto death on the cross, He became our substitute and bore our sins. He showed love to those that wanted Him crucified, and He forgives all who put their trust in Him. He is kind, trustworthy, patient, powerful, and the eternal Son of God.
For these reasons alone, I urge you to consider knowing Christ. Go beyond merely believing that He is the Son of God. Take on His qualities like the warrior described in Ephesians 6:11-17. Everyday put on the armor of God and practice the qualities of Christ to stand firm during times of hardship, health challenges, and spiritual attacks.
Begin by attaining a realization of who Christ is: And invest time to obtain a deeper understanding of the importance of granting Him full residence within you. Don’t approach this as an exercise, use it to better comprehend Christ. He’s the one who paid off your sin debt and gave His Spirit permission to dwell within you until your arrival in Heaven - John 3:16; 14:16-17.
Aren’t you the least bit curious about who possesses the keys to your heart? “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies, 1 Cor 6:619-20.” This scripture alone invites exploration. And if curiosity stirs within you, I believe when you begin this journey, you will see for yourself that His nature is constant, His love is unwavering, and His compassion endless.
That’s right! You will learn that Believers serve an immutable Savior: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, Heb 13:8.” His steadfast love for us is sacrificial. “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners, Rom 5:8.” He is a God of compassion. “And what pity he felt for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn’t know what to do or where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd, Matt 9:37.”
These are only a glimpse of His qualities, revealed to those who long for the fullness of who He is. So don’t settle to know Him partially or not know Him at all. Because if your heart still holds unclaimed space, it’s possible that space is being shared between two loves: Christ and Another.
Your “Another” could be your job, your children, money, fame, power, and other things that are flexible enough to switch from one type of “Another” to something different. With this type of co-occupancy, there’s no way that an indwelling of Christ’s Spirit can achieve full potential. As a matter of fact, sharing is not His style. God made this clear in Exodus 34:14 —for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
Shared indwelling’s dilute faith in the One that really counts during government shutdowns, furloughs, and closing food pantries. The “Another's” can’t put food on the table when you are out of work. Quite frankly, anxiety will overtake you before the Another has the opportunity to show up.
As you seek to know Christ, you will find out that He desires for believers to rest completely in Him, without anxiety. This may look like doing all that you can practically ─ but having complete assurance that Christ and peace is available to you.
Practical actions might include developing a budget or preparing a meal at home rather than eating out. Whatever you do, Hebrews 4 tells us that rest is achievable for all those who join with faith in Christ. It never mentions anything about joining in faith with Another.
So why share your faith with Another? Paul in the book of Philippians proclaimed that all other partnerships, goals, and desires pale in importance to knowing Christ. When His dwelling place, your heart, is filled with something else there’s “no more vacancy” for Christ.
Bottom line, our goal is to know God’s Son, whom He sent to save us and to be like Him in our witness. When we do, anxiousness and fears about tomorrow can be put to rest.
Finally, this message is not just for the layman. Jeremiah 22:15-16 (TLB) has a message for people in authority; God gave them a practical example of what it looks like to know Him. He reveals that to know Him is to live out His character through loving actions and compassion toward others. He told Jeremiah, “… Why did your father Josiah reign so long? Because he was just and fair in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him. He saw to it that justice and help were given the poor and the needy and all went well for him. This is how a man lives close to God.” In other words, practice justice, live righteously, and argue the cause of the afflicted and the poor.
To know God is something we all should be striving for. It’s not about head knowledge; it’s more about becoming like Him in thought and action. So, try to emulate His examples and make your relationship with Him primary. This kind of pursuit leads to treating others fairly and with respect. It causes us to keep our affairs in order and to deal honestly with people.
That’s why my prayer today is for you to become imitators of Christ. Get to know Him. Trust His Spirit to guide and to bring both peace and provisions.
And remember to always seek Christ first, not Another.
Continue Fishing with - Net.
Brenette Wilder Author of Netted Together
