"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 refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is 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 if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own." Philippians 3:8-12
This used to be my very favorite Bible passage when I was younger. It's still way up there. I came across it this morning when I was reading through the Epistle to the Philippians, and there it was.
I recall reading it with grand dreams of valiant sacrifice when I was younger. Sort of my life dream verse. It's always easier to read stuff like this and project big "what ifs" into the future, of wonderful ways to serve Christ (tromping through a jungle somewhere, no doubt) than it is to read "have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him" and see the heartbeat of one's own life in those words.
Suffered the loss...I've had losses. Very real ones. And a very very outwardly mundane life. And I get to look at those real losses and count them as refuse in order that I may gain Christ. And it's even in the midst of mundanity that this process can occur. And that is encouraging. Sacrifice for Christ does not always look glamorous or even noticeable. Sometimes it is quiet, often unnoticed and very often extremely hard for all it's ordinariness.
For is it not in the most ordinary of things that God meets us sacramentally? Bread, wine, oil, water. The stuff of life.
Perhaps it's the perspective of age. I'm not all that young anymore. Not all that old yet either, but certainly not all that young. Somewhere in the middle, I guess. And I can look back and I can look around and there's this perspective that all my great and wonderful credentials don't mean an thing when I'm standing before the throne of God. I can look at my life and the supposed smallness of it, and be content because it is in the moment by moment stuff where my salvation is forged in Christ.
Not that I've obtained this or am already perfect...
This used to be my very favorite Bible passage when I was younger. It's still way up there. I came across it this morning when I was reading through the Epistle to the Philippians, and there it was.
I recall reading it with grand dreams of valiant sacrifice when I was younger. Sort of my life dream verse. It's always easier to read stuff like this and project big "what ifs" into the future, of wonderful ways to serve Christ (tromping through a jungle somewhere, no doubt) than it is to read "have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him" and see the heartbeat of one's own life in those words.
Suffered the loss...I've had losses. Very real ones. And a very very outwardly mundane life. And I get to look at those real losses and count them as refuse in order that I may gain Christ. And it's even in the midst of mundanity that this process can occur. And that is encouraging. Sacrifice for Christ does not always look glamorous or even noticeable. Sometimes it is quiet, often unnoticed and very often extremely hard for all it's ordinariness.
For is it not in the most ordinary of things that God meets us sacramentally? Bread, wine, oil, water. The stuff of life.
Perhaps it's the perspective of age. I'm not all that young anymore. Not all that old yet either, but certainly not all that young. Somewhere in the middle, I guess. And I can look back and I can look around and there's this perspective that all my great and wonderful credentials don't mean an thing when I'm standing before the throne of God. I can look at my life and the supposed smallness of it, and be content because it is in the moment by moment stuff where my salvation is forged in Christ.
Not that I've obtained this or am already perfect...
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