Philippians 3:7,8
“But whatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ”.
This reminds me of the decision the rich young ruler wrestled with. He had much and when Jesus asked Him to give it all up, he shrunk back. Hopefully he came to Christ later. But we’ve all had difficulty giving things up. Paul is in deep on the other side. He gave much up long ago. They are all a distant memory.
He no longer see them as things he gave up, but he sees their absence from his life as gain. He is better with them gone. I would agree. Those things that I clung to were just chains. Not so at the time. They seemed precious.
In a way is like an addict looking at his drug of choice. He desires it greatly, but it’s actually a cause of death for him. We are the better for their absence.
God is so patient with us. He waits a long time for us to give things up. A human would pout and say, “Fine. Keep your poison.” Not God. He works here and there to help us rid ourselves from those things.
In time, we are like Paul and are glad for the change. That which was so valuable, is seen as it is; some cheap item.
Paul sees all as loss to gain Christ. So true. I can recall reading passages where heaven or the heavenly throne is described. The long periods of worship. It seemed boring. Until I began to “Taste and see that the Lord is good”. I get it now. He is so worthy. What a privilege to praise Him. We begin to understand His greatness. We see the infinite detail in creation which point to His brilliance and His continued holding it all together. When we zoom in on things we see the intricacy and a whole new world of things to see. Details and design. Praise You, God.
We see the great lengths He goes to in our lives. He makes beautiful things (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We have undergone a change in values. He has given us a new heart that loves what He loves. More and more we become Christlike. It’s as if we have His DNA. A little roadmap that forms what we’ll be. All the fruit of the Spirit gets built in us: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control”. All that matters.
Paul describes our beginning in I Corinthians 1:26, “Brothers consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.” Few of us came from good stock. He chose the rejects. All the more amazing what He’s done with us. More testimony to His greatness, that He can take the common and turn into something valuable.
Thank You God for Your patience and persistence. Thank You for Your great wisdom and work in and through us. You truly make beautiful things. You’ve worked in our minds and hearts to value what’s Yours. You’ve taken us wrecks and made us a positive force. Thank You.