Lesson Three • Grow
Jeannie Yates
Can you think of something that you worked really, really hard for? Some of you studied diligently to earn that diploma with high honors while others spent countless hours rebuilding a car engine. Think about how you would feel taking your highest achievement and burning it like it is trash. Now, let us take that idea another step further and take your entire lifestyle, the way you grew up, the way you learned how the world works, everything you built your life upon, and burn that like it is trash. This is the example Paul uses in Philippians 3:7-8, “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.”
Paul was the poster boy for the “perfect Jew.” He was a natural-born citizen, from the tribe of Benjamin (the favored one), and followed the Law to the highest standard as a Pharisee. This is the “gain” that Paul is mentioning here. Before he encountered Jesus, he believed that the responsibility of being in the right standing with God rested solely on his shoulders. He put in the hard work and took that responsibility very seriously. In fact, he was so extremely passionate about following the Law that he made himself the judge, jury, and executioner of the early Christ followers.
However, Paul says that he found something that far surpasses the highest earthly achievement. Everything Paul had succeeded at, from culture’s perspective, was not just insignificant, but it was utterly worthless trash compared to knowing His Savior, Jesus. I like the way that “The Message” paraphrases this passage, “The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash – along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant – dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him.”
Now, I am not saying to go take your accomplishments and throw them in the trash, but maybe it is time we all take a spiritual inventory. What things in our lives do we place at a much higher, or even equal, value to knowing Christ? Are we continuing to set aside our “self” to let Christ reign as our Lord? Paul reminds us that we no longer live, but it is Christ who lives in us. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Is our desire to have our “gain” be knowing Christ alone? If we truly want to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” (2 Peter 3:18) then we need to look at what we value in our day-to-day lives. Are we going to value worldly achievements or will we seek only Christ? Will it be money or Christ? Will it be our families or Christ? Will it be our comfort or Christ?
Ephesians 4:21-24 (NLT) adds, “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.”