This is the last in my series on “one thing.” It involves a man who did a lot of things, and yet, he claimed to do only one thing. Here is part of his story:

“If anyone else thinks he has reason for 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; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. ⁷ But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order 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 comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— ¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Straining Toward the Goal

Phil. 3:12   Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. ¹⁶ Only let us hold true to what we have attained.” (English Standard Version)

“One thing I do,” said the Apostle Paul. Actually, Paul had done a lot of things, both good and bad. Indeed, he had just listed a number of things that he had been and done that showed that he was about as Jewish as a person could be. This was important because there were people who were trying to convince the Philippian believers that if they wanted to be Christ-followers, they had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses. Paul says a resounding “No!” to this approach to the faith. While Paul might have played that game, he had come to believe that it was a game neither he nor anyone else could win.

But, ironically enough, Paul’s one thing actually involves at least two things. The first part of his two-fold “one thing” was that he had forgotten the past.

The irony deepens. The things that Paul says he has forgotten are things that he has just mentioned. It would seem that Paul’s “forgetory”, like the memory of may people, was awfully selective.

On the other hand, I am not sure that forgetting in Hebrew or Greek is merely concerned with whether or not a person has retained something in his conscious awareness. I suspect that, instead, the words for remembering and forgetting involve focus. Remembering means “to focus on something,” and forgetting means “to choose not to focus on something.” So perhaps Paul wasn’t as inconsistent as he might appear—at least in this case.

So, if Paul was refusing to focus on certain things—even good things—from his past, where was his focus? It was on knowing Christ as well as he could. Paul was well aware that he didn’t know Jesus Christ as well as he wanted to. His understanding of Christ was not perfect. This should comfort the rest of us who feel like beginners at this Christian faith business. Maybe we are all beginners.

Still, knowing Christ deserved his most strenuous and sustained efforts. Paul uses a Greek word (διώκω), which is used for a runner who is straining to finish strong. And the present tense of the verbs suggests an ongoing, continual striving to know Christ better.

Even if Jesus was only a great teacher, prophet, and teller of stories, he would be well worth getting to know better. If he was, as some of us believe, God in the flesh, then we really need to strive to do this one thing: to know Christ better. I suspect that this One Thing will take more than a lifetime, more than several of them. Fortunately, God thought of this, and offers us an eternity to get to know Jesus better.

One of my favorite Promise Keeper’s hymns is called “Knowing You.” I close with its lyrics.

“Verse 1
All I once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres and wars to own;
All I once thought gain I have counted loss,
Spent and worthless now compared to this.

Chorus
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing
You’re my all, You’re the best
You’re my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.

Verse 2
Now my heart’s desire is to know You more,
To be found in You and known as Yours,
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All surpassing gift of righteousness

Chorus
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing
You’re my all, You’re the best
You’re my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.

Verse 3
Oh to know the power of Your risen life,
And to know You in Your sufferings;
To become like You in Your death, my Lord,
So with You to live and never die.

Chorus
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing
You’re my all, You’re the best
You’re my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.”