The Surpassing Worth

"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." Philippians 3:7-8a ESV

In our passage for today, Paul has just completed listing many of the "positives" of his life. I urge you to read the scripture in Saturday's post to get the entire picture.

Now he is letting us know his thinking about all these +'s of his early life. He makes a statement that is shocking, to say the least. All these good things, even the things the Lord uses (and we know He uses all things), Paul considers them as "loss." Not as a positive at all, but as a loss. In other words, he has turned his back on the entire lot of qualifications as a Jewish man! Everything that was done for him and to him as a member of the Jewish elite community - gone. Not a part of his life any more.

This would be hard for anyone - except for the reason he did the turning. Once Paul had encountered Jesus (on the road to Damascus and afterward), he no longer had any desire for position or placement among people. It was this encounter that turned his life into an offering unto the God he had always thought he served. Now he had seen! Now there was no returning to what was less than the least in his heart.

This is part of the missing link in our current attempts in evangelism. Most of the time we do not stress the need for an encounter, nor make a way for such to occur. We spend our time trying to get decisions. Decisions will only go so far, then the past and the flesh cravings, which have not been satisfied, return with force, the decision gets lost in the self-need. However, when we encounter Him, when ever we see, whenever we behold - then the past is like candle light in comparison to the illumination of a room full of electric brightness. Nothing calls us back - the comparison is beyond explanation.

So Paul had no need of what his past held. He had seen! "For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." Gal. 1:11-12 ESV

When we truly "see," then nothing can draw us away from following with all we are and have. When the "unfolding" of Him (in Him) begins through the Scriptures and through our lives -- now there can be no return to darkness -- we have heard His voice and have become one with the Light!

"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." (v. 8a)