S156P5 – Our good spiritual progress: the revelation of everything
Phi. 3:7-11
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Many of our decisions in life come with great risk because they require great sacrifice. For some, that comes from their professional ambition as they spend many years and many dollars advancing their education in pursuit of that dream job. For others, their venture is entrepreneurship, which comes with the frequent insecurity that environment can bring. Some will move far away from friends and family for any other kind of opportunity they hope will pay off. This life is short, and I think everyone understands that the rewards we reap from these risks are temporary, if reaped at all. The question is whether there is a better pay-off for our time, energy and resources.
It is good to accomplish things in this world. After all, the scriptures tell us to do everything we do as if doing it for the Lord. [Col. 3:23] He wants us to be fruitful and accomplished, but the end goal of that must be eternal in some respect. Paul gained many things in this world which do not last past this world, and we see how he viewed those treasures after encountering Christ. Compared to what he found in the Lord, that all amounted to nothing. Whatever he had accomplished or attained which made him feel like a big, important man could not compare with the treasures of Christ. He was willing to give up every ounce of that once he realized where everything really lies.
Paul came to the understanding that Christ is everything. This means that he put his faith, security and trust in nothing outside the Lord. This is how the mature Christian lives. If God gives us food, we praise him for the sustenance, but we do not trust in the food. We trust in the provider, and we trust in him even if the food never comes. The believer who dies hungry still is satisfied eternally. There are many things in this world we desperately will try to hold on to, things we think we really need, but everything we need is in Christ. If we have him, we already have it all. Father, thank You for the revelation that Christ is everything we need, and help us daily to live as those who truly believe that.