Day 3: Surpassing worth
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ... I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord... I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him… (Philippians 3:7-9).
Faithful Father, You have given us the first and most important command, to love You with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). You designed us to worship You, but sin has so affected human nature that we displace You with substitutes that leave us empty and unfulfilled.
In our systems and economies, we constantly endeavor to build ourselves cities, with towers that reach to the heavens, so that we can make a name for ourselves (Genesis 11:4). And we stake our identity and our security on our credentials, our possessions, and our achievements.
We see this in the former life of the apostle Paul—in the gains he esteemed as Saul the Pharisee. He describes his towers of pedigree and accomplishments: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless (Philippians 3:5-6).
But when the Lord Jesus healed him from spiritual blindness (Acts 9:1-18), Saul, now Paul, received new vision and a radical change in perspective: Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ... I consider them garbage... Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal... (Philippians 3:7-8, 13-14).
Lord, You used Paul's gifts and talents, and the privileges and experiences in his earlier life, along with his present hardships, for the glory of Your name. But they became instruments in Your kingdom, not the center of his identity. Do the same in us. Give us the willingness to consider our gains loss for the sake of Christ—our time, our gifts, our achievements, our identity, our all.
In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus instructed His followers: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…
He continued: No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:19-21, 24).
Between these two instructions Jesus inserted a teaching about vision: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23).
Oh Lord, give us clear vision to discern true value! Teach us to grasp the surpassing worth of knowing Christ, so that we would invest wisely in Your kingdom. So that we would gain Christ and be found in Him.
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