What do you want?

In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul lists three things that he wants: to know Christ; to know the power of his resurrection; and, to know the fellowship of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death (Phil 3:10). If we were to put these alongside our own desires, how would our desires match Paul's. When Paul mentions these desires, he is thinking of the past, present and future. For him, coming to know Christ was of greater worth than all his cultural heritage (Phil 3:8). To continue to know him, both in knowledge about him and relationship with him, was an ongoing desire. To know Christ fully at his coming in glory was Paul's greatest desire. The other two desires are similarly related. The goal of these desires was "to attain the resurrection of the dead." (Phil 3:11) The resurrection is hope of all who know Christ. It confirmed by Jesus' own resurrection and guaranteed by the gift of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 5:5).