Phillipians 3:7-11
7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 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 but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
There are many things we deem valuable in our lives. We value our families, our jobs, our friends, our homes, our stuff, and our reputations (to name a few). Surely the apostle Paul had these things as well, yet he describes a huge transition after encountering the Living God. There’s an appraisal of the heart, and something new that surpasses everything he’s ever counted as valuable. All the things, all the stuff, all the treasures he held so dear are suddenly eclipsed by this precious gift of knowing Jesus as Lord. It wasn’t a toss up, or a close race… the value of knowing the Lord in everyway possible was so much greater that the other things were considered rubbish.
My parents recently sold the house I grew up in. I love that house because it was more than just a house, it was a home. Over the 32 years they lived there, they remodeled, added on, and updated the inside and the outside. And as most of us do, they also accumulated a lot of stuff. The house was filled with “things”. When the time came to sell the home, the “stuff” didn’t sell it or even add value to the appraisal. It was the home itself and the upkeep that made it so valuable. If they hadn’t remodeled the bathrooms, it wouldn’t matter how many nice things they decorated it with, because they weren’t permanent fixtures.
Knowing Jesus and allowing him to completely change our lives is not a temporary thing, it’s an eternal thing. He’s a permanent fixture in our lives, and the one who truly gives us life. Oh the value of knowing HIM! When we realize this value, we realize it’s not the stuff that really adds to our lives, because knowing Him becomes so much greater than anything else.
I want to know HIM more. I can relate to Paul when he wrote that he hadn’t “arrived” yet. He hadn’t obtained all there was to obtain, but he was running in that direction. Running toward the most valuable thing in all existence.
I challenge you today to do an appraisal of your life. What is it that you hold most dear to your heart? Does the value of knowing Jesus as Lord surpass the rest? Are you running toward him or are there “things” that are holding you back?