KEY VERSE:
“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death”
(PHILIPPIANS 3:10).

Rick Warren wrote about Dr. Bernie Siegel, a notable oncologist in his book, The Purpose Driven Life. The character said he could predict which of his cancer patients would go into quick remission, by asking them the simple question: “Do you want to live to be one hundred years?” Those who believed strongly that there was a purpose for them in life answered in the affirmative, and they were the ones who mostly survived cancer.

Likewise, Apostle Paul never for once lost sight of the purpose of God for his life. He had accomplished many things. Yet, he reviewed his life and came to the profound conclusion that all those things were meaningless, compared to his knowledge of Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour. Previously, he thought he was righteous when he lived by the dictates of the law. But when he met Jesus, all he wanted was the righteousness Christ imparts. Nothing else mattered to him.

Daily, he desired to know Christ more, to experience the power of His resurrection afresh, to empathise with Christ’s suffering, crucifixion and death. He desired to die to self and walk in the steps of Jesus, in the hope that he would not miss the resurrection of the dead at Christ’s Second Coming. For these, Apostle Paul willingly gave up all privileges and positions of honour and acclaim in the religious establishment of the Jews.

The question is, what have you given up in order to follow Christ wholeheartedly? A close walk with the Lord entails rejection of all sinful pleasures and indulgences. It also requires you to abandon personal ambitions and plans that run contrary to God’s will. This is what gives you hope that when your time on earth ends, you will rise and reign with Christ.

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