I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! [Philippians 3.10-11]
Those are mighty big words!
To want to suffer with Christ is questionable if taken all by itself. However, to want to suffer with Christ to experience resurrection from the dead... Now, that's at a level all its own!
What is my goal in life? Is it to have a family? To have financial stability? Is it to be a famous preacher or recognized writer? Is my goal to make a name for myself? Is it just to succeed?
At this point in Paul's life, he has matured to the place that his goal had become eternal - spiritual at a level few ever experience. Paul was becoming fixated on experiencing the resurrection from the dead - the hope of all who are truly "in Christ."
Was Paul's goal of suffering with Christ so he might experience the resurrection from the dead a suffering of persecution or, was it a suffering of curses described in Deuteronomy 28 (sickness, disease, loss...)?
Here is an answer no one saw coming...
It didn't matter whether Paul's suffering was due to persecution or curses of the law! It seems that Paul embraced suffering either way, because, he saw one and the same result from both: the resurrection from the dead that Jesus promised and provided!
Any person who truly wishes to experience "the resurrection from the dead" is at a level of faith that is unstoppable. Neither life nor death hold any influence upon this person because resurrection is their only focus. To be risen with Christ is ALL that matters.
Wow. To be risen with Christ! Now, that is a revelation!
Father, may I be found at the level of faith that neither life nor death control me. May the resurrection from the dead because of Jesus Christ be my singular goal in all the power and testimony it carries! So be it!
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