Philippians 3

“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (v8).  The key to Paul’s life was his heart’s desire.  He had discovered that knowing Christ was better than anything else, and he had given up everything to follow Him.  Paul’s life was all about Jesus: to be “found in Him,” to know Him in suffering and resurrection, to reach toward the prize of the “upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (v14).

Trying to live morally without knowing Jesus is a dead end.  Loving Him comes first; then everything else makes sense.