Known by God

But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith. My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11)

Devotional: Paul had everything: Credentials, status, success. All the stuff that everyone in his day would’ve said, “That guy has it all.” But here's the twist: Paul realized that all of it was nothing. Absolutely nothing, when compared to knowing Christ. You know what he’s saying? He’s saying, “I had it all, and yet I found it to be worthless next to the glory of knowing Jesus."

Let that sink in for a second. I want you to really think about this: if you could have all the things this world has to offer - success, money, relationships, and status - but it meant missing out on knowing Jesus, would it still be worth it? Would it?

We live in a world that tells us we’re defined by what we do, how we look, what we achieve. But let me be clear: That’s not who you are. That’s not the identity that Jesus offers you. Those things don’t define you. He does. Jesus says, “I’ve come to give you something better than all that stuff. I’ve come to give you a relationship with Me, and there’s nothing more valuable than that."

It’s easy to get sucked into thinking that Christianity is just another thing to check off, another item on the list: “Read my Bible, check. Go to church, check. Pray, check.” But that’s not the relationship Jesus is offering. Knowing Jesus isn’t a checklist. It’s not about duties. It’s about relationship.

So, here’s the challenge: What if you stopped measuring your spiritual life by your performance and started pursuing your relationship with Jesus? What would that look like? Maybe it’s shutting out the noise for a few minutes to truly listen to Him in prayer. Maybe it’s reading Scripture not just to get through it but to meet with the God who wrote it. What if knowing Jesus became your highest pursuit, above everything else?

Today, ask yourself: Is knowing Christ the highest priority in your life? If not, make it so. Make it your pursuit today. Everything else will fade, but He remains. Chase after Him.

Prayer: Jesus, help me to desire You more than anything else. Strip away the things I’ve made more important than knowing You. Draw me deeper into relationship with You. Amen.