“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Philippians 3:8)
The great business of our life should be to know Christ. Knowing Christ is no head thing; it is an intimate communion of our heart with His. In being made like us, He is touched by the feeling of our infirmities; in our being made like Him, we are touched by His feelings in the midst of our suffering. We count the most painful experiences of our life a golden opportunity to learn of our Lord. We receive His counsel to buy gold from Him in the fires we face so we might possess the riches of His knowledge.
What is more important to us than knowing our Lord? Is there anything more valuable in all the world than this? If this is the purpose for which we are living then we know God is working all things together toward this good end. In comparison to gaining Christ in such an intimate way we count all else but dung. We know why we are here – to bear the image of Christ; and the very worst things that can happen to us, even being made conformable to His death, are the gateway to our glorious destiny.