It’s All Garbage Aside From The Cross

“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.”

Phil 3:7-8

The company I work for is going through a merger with a competitor.

A lot of us work remotely so cooler talk is non-existent like it used to be; instead we use Teams and Teams is red-hot. Messages are flying around with supersonic speed because in the absence of facts, people start making stuff up. Theories turn into Loch Ness Monsters, they get bigger and more unpredictable; they’re sunken boats, missing limbs and sudden disappearances.

uncertainty breeds fear

This verse made me think about accomplishments. My accomplishments and how I weigh them out. Is my self-worth tied up in how much I’ve done more so than who I am? My first instinct is to quickly answer no, NO, resoundingly NOOOO. But yes. Often.

How about you? What’s in your Gain column? Back in verse 5 Paul lists all the things that gave him confidence in the flesh; his pedigree, his accomplishments, his religious doctrines and political viewpoint. They all kind of stacked up and made him look like a super-achiever. His GAIN column was pumped.

Jesus brings hope

But then Damascus happened and everything he had ever accomplished or earned no longer mattered. Who he was mattered.

With prison sentences and murder on his mind, Saul (later called Paul) is stopped dead in his tracks by the Lord. He was on a mission; the entirety of his life, all of his training and every career move had prepared him for that very moment.

Blinding light and a booming voice shattered his carefully laid plans. “Why are you persecuting me?” Jesus asks. Life as he had known it slipped through his fingers like ashes.

It’s so easy to get consumed with doing and forget about being.

only Jesus

The revelation of Jesus was so profound that everything he used to call gain, he now labels as garbage, trash.

Confidence in the flesh, LOSS.

Jesus Christ, GAIN.

Why? Because nothing else lasts. Nothing else has the power to give eternal life. Nothing else has the power to forgive sins and restore right relationship with God. Nothing is worth more than knowing Jesus. When we compare the things that give us confidence in our own flesh to Christ, they amount to nothing. All of our plaques fall off the walls, the trophy’s tarnish, the accolades sound tinny and false.

surpassing worth

Jesus gave Paul a new life-assignment: Seek my face. Stop chasing dust. Stop hiding in the shadows. Rest in Me and I’ll never leave you.

“Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Mtt. 11:28