The Focus of Our Lives

“I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10-11

I read this the other day and thought to myself…do I think and dream over my personal mission given to me from the Lord like Paul did? This verse summarizes the main reason we even exist on this lowly earth: to know Christ, to know and experience Him in our lives, and to identify with his sufferings.

If these 3 things are evidenced in our life then everything that flows from these three things in our life becomes a by-product. Watching God do miracles through is are a by-product. Christ likeness is a by-product. Victory over temptation is a by-product. God using you to save souls is a by-product. Paul’s focus was on the deepness of his relationship with Christ, he understood that the deeper the relationship, the more power he would experience. He also understood that as he grew in this relationship, there would be suffering.

I thought a lot about what Dale Sutherland (Director of Tyson’s Student Ministries) said last night at the ROCK in his message regarding us being the light of Jesus Christ and shining this light so vibrantly in the midst of a terribly dark world. Whenever the light of Jesus Christ confronts the kingdom of darkness, there is a battle, a fierce spiritual battle that will inevitably result in casualties. Christ confronted this earthly darkness and suffered for it. If we are living at this level of obedience than we will also face similar battles; we may be rejected sharing our faith, it simply comes with the territory.

I had to ask myself “Mike, does this sound like your personal mission statement? Is your focus in life centered on knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection?” If not, we must make haste to press into Him today, before doing anything else, in order to begin experiencing Christ more intimately in our lives.

by Mike Reed, MBC Loudoun Director of Student Ministries (The Rock)