Following Pauls Foot Steps

Philippians is a book that was intended to encourage the Christian in there walk in faith. At first I did not feel that encouragement because I was looking at with the completely wrong attitude. I did not understand how Paul could write in Philippians 3:10b-11 how he wants to know Christ “becoming like him in his death”. I thought was so scary especially in the context of going on mission trips... the possibility of never coming home.

Context here is KEY!!!!!

Note: please PLEASE PLEASE!!! Always go back to context when something doesn’t make sense... it will when you do this

Paul before this is talking to the Philippians about if anyone was to be considered blameless under the law it would be him. He had everything all laid out. Paul came from the right family, had the connections, the qualifications and knew how to the walk the walk and the talk the talk. He had it all!

Yet he said that it was RUBBISH all that he had he had, did owned qualified for was RUBBISH, compared to Knowing Christ. I can honestly see that Paul’s hand writing probably got a little darker from the passion that you hear in his words. Paul wants to get rid of all these qualifications so that he could GAIN CHRIST not out of his own working but through CHRISTS RIGHTOUS. Nothing that Paul did but everything that Christ did for him. including his resurrection. Paul was so enthralled consumed entrenched by Christ and wanted to know him so intimately that he wanted to know his death so that Paul may experience the RESURECTION.

This too should be our desires, not to consider how well we know our bible and our doctrine (thought these are very important) it is about knowing Christ so intimately that we should naturally WANT to die like Christ did so that we can grow even closer to him. This is the passion that should consume us because it consumed Paul. To me this is encouraging. To me this shows me how to get to the place where I am willing to die for him. My intimacy level is not there yet but I am excited for the time where I am able to have to passion that Paul did!