Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. Philippians 3:7-9
Paul has just shared that he was a blameless Jewish Pharisee, a follower of the Law to the letter, and the foremost persecutor of Christians. He'd had success, promotions, pedigree, and spirituality. Yet nothing that he'd done before He met Christ can compare to the glorious life he presently has as the servant to Jesus, Risen Christ his Lord and Savior.
Do you feel this way too? Nothing that we can do in this world apart from Christ is worth promoting because it is what Christ has done in and through us that matters. Nothing has worth except our faith in Jesus Christ. And Paul highlights that he has suffered the loss of all things, excepting himself, which he considers rubbish (Greek=dung) and has gained Christ.
Once we have accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord then He works within our hearts to continually transform us to become more like Him. Faith happens through our participation. We open our hearts to His message to us through New Testament Scriptures, we yield our hearts and minds to His Holy Spirit to use us in any situation or circumstance, and we live in a state of Praise and Thanksgiving that His will is being done on earth as it is in heaven.
His will is utmost. Jesus' will is love and the deep caring which He has for each one of us is real. Our obedience to His loving directives allows us to humbly call ourselves His beloveds. For He is praying for us constantly, loving us with pure compassion, and has gone to the Cross, suffered, and died for each of us. He is our life and He is what life is. The surpassing value is knowing Jesus Christ our Lord.
To God be the Glory!
Rev. Patricia E. Walker,