Coffee cup Bible Studies-3 minutes with God

[Dr Denis O'Callaghan]

Frappé with Philippians

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (Php 3:10)

Gentle Reader,

Is this your Supreme Desire? To know Him? In my humble opinion the supreme longing of the Christian heart should be first of all and most of all to know Christ; personally and intimately; to know Him experientially in "the power of the resurrection"; to know Him in that deepest and closest of all ways, in the oneness of a sympathetic heart-to-heart fellowship in His sufferings over a world with it’s back turned away from God.

But I can only know Him in this way when I make Him truly "My Lord" and He becomes more than Lord but my friend, my older Brother, and all things are counted as loss for His dear sake, living wholly for Him and keeping daily company with Him in that quiet place. Untill like Brother Lawerence "Practicing the presence of God" we are so in touch with Him that we carry on that conversation, non stop, picking up where we left off, when interupted by the world. This is open to all of us even though we must give hours of each day to the mundane things; and who can tell the rich, deep spiritual joys which come to those who know the Lord Jesus in this manner?

I fear sometimes that despite all of our busy Christian service, our attending of meetings, and conventions, our singing of hymns and our outward Christian activities, some of us, even though we are truly trusting in the finished work of that Calvary for our salavation may find, when we pass into eternity that we do not know Jesus Himself- having so gelected the secret times with Christ down here that we find ourselves strangers to Him there!

"That I may know Him", are we so busy serving Him like Martha that we have no time for the siting at His feet like Mary? And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. (Luk 10:39-42)

This was the ancient posture of disciples or learners. They sat at the "feet" of their teachers - that is, beneath them, in a humble place. Hence, Paul is represented as having been brought up at the "feet" of Gamaliel, Act_22:3. When it is said that Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, it means that she was "a disciple" of his; that she listened attentively to his instructions, and was anxious to learn his doctrine.

The trouble with many of us is that we block our own vision of Him, by our busyness of serving. We must get to where Paul was when he said "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: . . ."(Php 3:8).

Paul penned those words 30 years after meeting the risen Christ on that Damascus road "That I may know Him"! His longing was to know the mind and heart and love and friendship of Christ in ever developing degree. As treasure seekers seek fortunes for gain should we not seek and discover that treasure that we have in our earthen vessels? Well may this be our life-long motto be" That I may know Him".

Till next time, I am just one beggar showing another where to find bread,
Love,
Denis
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[Christopher R. Dockrey]

Dr. O'Callaghan, thank you so much for this. I saw something here I hadn't quite understood before. I guess I had a limited understanding of what it meant to be "at the feet" of someone, but I just saw this in a new light.

One thing I believe the Lord has ministered to me over the years, and particularly lately, is the proper understanding of spiritual sons to their spiritual fathers. One relationship that stands out clearly to me is the one between Paul and "son" Timothy. I suppose that is because we have letters that seem to embody this principle, with Paul making reference to Timothy's spiritual heritage - not only in relation to Paul - but Timothy's mother and grandmother.

I believe there is so much here that many of us (myself included) have not seen. In my opinion, American culture does not lend itself to the honor of previous generations. Perhaps even in the greater Western world is changing so rapidly that it reinforces generational gaps, which is why this is a principle we must learn. There is just something holy about the relationship between the pupil and his instructor when the instructor is more than an instructor, but a father. There are many instructors, but few fathers.

I may have digressed somewhat from your intention here, but not far. When I look at the ministry of Jesus with his disciples, this statement stands out in relation to what you said here:

And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach.

Mark 3:14

It is apparent that the service the disciples were to do on behalf of Jesus was to be the result of their being "with him". It had to be a matter of relationship before it could be a matter of service. And I think this is a valuable lesson for us, because even today if we are followers of Christ, though we may sit at the feet of human teachers, we should only follow them as they follow Christ. If our priorities or their priorities are not Christ-centered, we'll go astray.