For my determined purpose is that I may know Him that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly. (Philippians 3:10 amp)
Purpose. It’s the driving force behind our lives. Our motivation. The reason we get up the in the morning and move.
For some, it’s to make money. For others, it’s to be a mom and a wife. Others want to reach stardom and be famous or go to the Olympics and set a world record. What’s your passion? Taking Jesus to the nations? To your neighbor?
The apostle Paul wrote this as he was sitting in prison towards the end of his life, and he had already accomplished quite a bit since his radical transformation from a Christian killer to a pillar in the early church. He’d been on missionary journeys, started several churches, won countless hearts for Christ, and been used to work amazing miracles and signs and wonders. Oh yea – he also wrote about 3/4 of the New Testament.
Yet these are not the things he accredits to his purpose. It wasn’t preaching the gospel or working miracles or even blessing people. Although these are all good and noble things, they were not Paul’s purpose. They weren’t his passion.
That I may know Him. Knowing Christ was Paul’s purpose. The reason he lived and got out of bed every morning. Everything else was a byproduct of his relationship with Christ.
That I may know Him. I just want to ask Paul, “Wait a minute. You’ve been walking with Jesus more than 30 years. Don’t you think you know Him by now?”
And I think his answer would have been, “Not well enough yet. There’s so much more to know and perceive and recognize and understand of the wonders of who He is. I’ve really only just scratched the surface, and I won’t stop searching Him out until I see Him face to face. And neither should you.”
When knowing Him is your dream, your passion, your purpose, it won’t matter what you’re doing or what you’re waiting for, you’ll be content and satisfied.
What is your determined purpose? Let’s make knowing Him more deeply and becoming more intimately acquainted with the wonders of His person our only goal in life. Let’s make Him our purpose and see just how rich life can be.
