"I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the
fellowship of sharing in His suffering, becoming like Him in His death"
Philippians 3:10 N.I.V.
When
you look at this scripture carefully one would wonder why Paul after
the much work he had accomplished for the sake of the gospel, he still
confessed his lack of knowing fully Who Christ is. His testimony had
clearly shown his wisdom in his walk with God. He knew that inspite of
all, he had yet attained the full knowledge of God. He understood that
the true knowledge of who God is, is incomprehensible for the human
mind. Little wonder the prayer he offered for the Ephesians in Ephesians 3: 17b-19. You
see there are many dimensions and depth to this great God we serve, He
is love, compassion, grace, beauty, mercy, forgiveness and many more
wonderful virtues we are quite accustomed to but fully understand.
However this same God is the God of war and of wrath that visits the
sins of the fathers upon the third and fourth generation of those who
hate him Exodus 20:5. But we as children of God must continue
to yearn and desire to understand and comprehend the magnitude of His
person. It is impossible for us to do this if we do not become lambs of God.Have
you ever observed the lamb, its innocence, submission, how trusting and
obedient it is, how it longs to dwell in the comfort and security of
its mother? It seeks always to follow the shepherd irrespective of where
he is leading, it hungers for the pure nurturing milk of its mother
always. Well, this must be the attitude we must carry, the mind set
needed to know the Lord more. A child-like innocence that blinds us to
human and worldly wisdom.
Picture Isaac and Abraham in Genesis 22:6-9, so
much has been said about the obedience of Abraham, but have we paid
much attention to the mindset and attitude of Isaac? Isaac carried the
wood with which he was to be sacrificed, he was bound up and ready to be
slaughtered. Abraham was at the brink of slaying Isaac before the Angel
of the Lord called out to him. Not once did we see Isaac scared,
questioning, rebellious, angry, spiteful or even a hint of hatred during
and after the event, even if there was fear it did not matter, because
as he willingly laid there the Spirit of God: of boldness and courage
came upon him. This is a clear illustration of the way and manner we as
children of God should follow Him. No wonder Paul by the Spirit of God
declared in 2Corinthians 4:11 "For we who live are always delivered
to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested
in our mortal flesh".
Likewise,
Christ gave Himself submissively which implies He willingly sacrificed
Himself as the Lamb of God that gives its life for the world. Jesus
makes one profound point clear in the following scriptures of John 5:19, 12:49 & 14: 31 that
He follows His Father to the letter without any reservation, His
actions and spoken words adhered strictly to His Father's instructions.
This is the kind of obedience and submission that we should strive for
so that we may know Him better. But remember also that it was the love
for His Father that motivated this kind of character, not the glory from
and praises of people; but the sheer desire to please His heavenly
Father. We can not know Him better if we do not love Him, fear Him and
obey His word, for the Bible makes it clear in Psalms 25:14,
that it is only those that fear God that He confides in and reveals His
covenant, Jesus also made it clear that it is those that love God can
obey Him (John 14:15).
Now
as we live and do as Christ lived and did by carrying the gospel round
the world with joy, understanding and passion, He will reveal Himself
more and more in us. Even as we completely obey, an obedience unto death
without questioning even when we do not understand, our heavenly Father
who is ever so gracious will in love show us the magnitude of His love
and power. GOD BLESS YOU as you rise to this.
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