Knowing a Banana: part 1

The Apostle Paul. What comes to mind when you hear that name? Some think of prison, some think of a 180 degree conversion, and some think of martyrdom. I think of a man who's life changed so drastically that he changed the world. I want to leave a legacy like that!

Paul wrote most of the New Testament in the form of letters to the Churches he felt responsible for. I often wonder if the recipients of those letters fully understood what he was trying to tell them. I would love to have been a fly on the wall when they read them. Philippians 3 is one such letter.

Phil 3:4-21

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 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, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

I am amazed by this passage. Paul was not bashing his previous lifestyle before conversion as many believe. He was one of the greatest and most faithful Jews of his time. He tells us that he had "more" reason to put confidence in the flesh. He was a full blooded Hebrew, descendant of Pharisees, he memorized the Law, he Biblically opposed anyone who he felt was a threat to his beliefs, and he was righteous because of his adherence to the Old Covenant. He was the man! This is why his conversion to Christ was so HUGE!

So he goes on to say that all of this he considers a "loss" for the sake of Christ. The word loss here means damage or a detrament. He is saying that all he lived for prior to his encounter with Christ was completely scriptural but in comparison with Christ it is destructive. Why? Because he understands that to know Christ is far greater a reward than a self-centered, law based, do this and don't do that system of righteousness. That we can all relate to but he gets even deeper.

He says that more than that he considers "everything" a loss compared to the "surpassing greatness" (beyond our carnal understanding) of knowing Jesus Christ. That is HUGE! He isn't talking about sin here; he is talking about everything prior to right now is a detriment to knowing Christ, right now. Let me say it this way, to know Christ is to "be knowing" Him. It is a constant state of discovery of who Jesus is. Paul considers everything in the past less than zero; in a scale of 1 to 10 it is like -10. He isn't just talking about failure he is talking about successes as well. Consider Moses, he meets with God at a burning bush. I have to think at that time in Moses' life that experience had to be, to him, a mountain top experience. Many Christians have experiences like that and spend the rest of their lives wishing they were still living in that experience never moving on like that is the best God can do. You know what I mean: "I remember when Church used to..." What would have happened if Moses hadn't left the bush? He would have never delivered his people. He would have never parted the Red Sea. He would have never climbed a mountain to meet with God. He would have never met face to face with God in such a way that his face would glow from God's glory. Paul is saying here that in order to know (be knowing) Christ he must forget the bush to get to the deliverance. He must forget the bush to get to the parting of the waters. He must forget the bush to get to the meeting with God again and again. I am not implying that testimonies of what God has done in the past should be forgotten but we must be continually heading forward in our relationship with God. Look at what he says next in this passage; he considers it all rubbish which means dung. Basically he is saying everything else is crap in comparison to the immeasurable greatness of getting to know Jesus in every way.

I want to share more on this portion of scripture (hence the part 1 in the title) but I want to leave you with this thought. How do you know a banana? You can know what it looks like, what it feels like, what it smells like, and what it tastes like. You can talk to someone else and both of you have different takes on the banana. Some people like the taste and some don't. You can know the science of the make-up of the banana or the nourishment you get from it. Think about this; on a cellular level you can "know" the banana in ways that you cannot comprehend with you mind. When you body assimilates the nutrients of the banana the banana becomes a part of you. Do you get what I am saying? There are countless ways we can know something but Paul wants to know Christ in all of those ways and in ways that he can't even comprehend with his human understanding. That is so HUGE I wonder if the Philippian Church got it. I wonder if we get it.

I want to explore this some more but until then, you be blessed and I ask Christ to reveal Himself to you today in a way you have never seen Him before!