Himself

“What’s is the goal of christianity?”

This isn’t a question that I thought was important to me. Being a believer for many years and knowing that I was saved, I didn’t think much of what else there could be after believing, until I heard a sermon on this topic. It suddenly struck me how imperative this question is, being the very fundamental question of why I believe in the very first place.

It would be strange, I thought, that if some non-believer would ask me a question like, “What do you look for in being christian?” and i couldn’t truly answer. Probably, my answer would be along the lines of, “Going to heaven”, or ”Becoming a good person”, but I never really knew the true answer myself.

It is sad because many christians like me do not see the ultimate goal of believing or the ultimate purpose why we believe. To many, believing is strictly for the purpose of forgiveness of sins and getting to heaven and that is the very end. This in itself is not wrong, but it isn’t our goal. As Devern Fromke once put it, heaven is not our goal, but a destination. Believing is, in actual fact, just the beginning. Therefore, there has to be a goal, an end that we should look for.

What then is our goal?

Does God offers salvation to mankind with nothing else after that?

I stumbled upon a song that I would like to share. It is titled ‘Himself’:

Once was the blessing,
Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling,
Now it is His word;
Once His gifts I wanted,
Now, the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing,
Now Himself alone. 

Chorus
All in all forever, Jesus will I sing;
Everything in Jesus, And Jesus everything. 

Once ‘twas painful trying,
Now ‘tis perfect trust,
Once a half salvation,
Now the uttermost;
Once ‘twas ceaseless holding,
Now He holds me fast;
Once ‘twas constant drifting,
Now my anchor’s cast. 

Chorus 

Once ‘twas busy planning,
Now ‘tis trustful prayer;
Once ‘twas anxious caring,
Now He has the care;
Once ‘twas what I wanted,
Now what Jesus says;
Once ‘twas constant asking,
Now ‘tis ceaseless praise 

Chorus 

Once I hoped in Jesus,
Now I know He’s mine;
Once my lamps were dying,
Now they brightly shine;
Once for death I waited,
Now His coming hail;
And my hopes are anchored
Safe within the veil

This song tells of our purpose and goal for believing in Christ.

Our goals are not the blessings of God, not the feeling of salvation, not the gifts God gives and not the healing he bestows, as the 1st stanza of the song suggests. Our Goal is summed up in one word: CHRIST.

Just as Paul in Philippians 3: 14 puts it plainly, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”

That was Paul’s goal in whatever he does and it should also be our goal. This is what we should press on for. It is not for what God can give us, but rather, it is the person Himself. The goal is in God, in Christ Jesus.

As Christians, let us press on toward that goal, which is God, to know him more deeply and intimately.