To Know Christ

Philippians 3:8
I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.


The surpassing greatness of knowing Christ – what exactly does Paul mean by that statement? To consider everything a loss compared to knowing Christ, to consider all things that this world has to offer as rubbish (or dung, as the King James Version so aptly puts it), well, that’s just how awesome Christ is.

I think the question must be posed – do we consider everything rubbish? Every advantage life has to offer; every good thing we have done or accomplished; every thing that gives us joy and puts a smile on our face beyond that of Christ; every person that God has blessed us with – are we ready to call it all rubbish in comparison to knowing Christ? I think perhaps that depends on what "knowing Christ" really means.

I find it interesting that in verse 10 of this same passage Paul, again, says that he wants to "know Christ." The transliteration of "know" in this verse is ginosko and is defined as "to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of, perceive, feel." It is also a "Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman." (Strong’s Concordance) Strange, isn’t it? Yet really, if we think about it, sexual intercourse is truly the most intimate knowledge of another person that we can experience. Why wouldn’t we want to come to know Christ that well?

Now, I am not suggesting that we would engage in "sexual intercourse" with Christ – that is just absurd. I am suggesting that our relationship can be as intimate, if not more intimate than any and every relationship we have ever had here on earth. We must "learn to know" Him, "come to know" Him, it is a process, like every other relationship. Yet, once we experience His tenderness, love, passion, and intimacy, there is nothing that we wouldn’t give in this life to live and grow in that relationship on a daily basis. Everything we have will pale in comparison to such a beautiful and precious relationship. That is what I want, don’t you?

So, let’s seek Christ today. Let’s seek to know Him, and allow Him to reveal Himself to us in a way that, once experienced, our lives will never be the same. Let’s allow Him to take us to a place that is beyond any and every earthly desire, giving us eyes for Christ alone and His great love and glory.