The Lighthouse Devotional
Author: Juliet Forde
SCRIPTURE VERSE
“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Phil 3:10–11 NIV).
PERSONAL REFLECTION
Paul considers all that he has lost for the sake of Christ to be garbage in comparison with the immeasurable worth that he has derived from knowing him. For Paul, nothing else matters when compared to his relationship with Christ—not his religion, family, career, or even past accomplishments (cf. Phil 3:5–6). Since his conversion, Paul’s singular goal has been Christ, and this conviction motivates Paul to utter the words of today’s Scripture text.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
To know Christ is to have a personal and intimate relationship with him, willingly embracing every avenue of that relationship, including suffering for the sake of Christ. We know that Christ suffered a cruel, painful, and degrading death on the Cross and that he did it out of love for us and obedience to his Father. We also know that he was despised and rejected by people, oppressed and afflicted; yet, he did not open his mouth but remained silent before his tormenters (Isa 53:3–7). Therefore, knowing Christ is to be familiar with and participate in every aspect of his earthly experience, including his suffering.
Christians must be willing to suffer for the sake of the gospel of Christ. Indeed, when we suffer for Christ’s sake, we need not be ashamed but must praise God that we are fortunate to bear the name of Christ (cf. 1 Pet 4:16). Knowing Christ means delighting in the weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties we experience as his disciples (cf. 2 Cor 12:10).
EXHORTATION
Therefore, let us aspire to realize Paul’s objective of knowing Christ personally and intimately. Let us be familiar not only with his signs, wonders, and miracles but also with his sufferings, recognizing that our light and momentary troubles for the sake of his gospel “are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor 4:17).
PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us access to Your throne through the blood of Jesus Christ. We thank You for demonstrating Your love for us by sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins on the Cross. Help us to live with the conviction that “[We] have been crucified with Christ and [we] no longer live, but Christ lives in [us]. The life [we] now live in the body, [we] live by faith in the Son of God, who loved [us] and gave himself for [us]” (Gal 2:20). In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.