Knowing 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.

                                                            Philippians 3:8

               Making a sacrifice for the Lord is what I am called to do. Letting go of all the things in this world that I value and treasure and giving them to the Lord, knowing that having a relationship with Him and knowing Him intimately surpasses anything else I could ever gain in this world. Paul says here that he “counts it all as loss”, he doesn’t put any value on what he knows, on what he owns, on what he loves and cherishes, but he throws that all aside and knows that is all nothing compared to knowing Jesus. Now of course I need to put some value on things in my life, on the people I love, in what I own (taking care of it in a Godly manner) and what I learn. But when I compare the worth I put on those earthly blessings to the worth I have in my relationship to with Jesus it shouldn’t even be close! My relationship with my heavenly father should far outweigh everything else in my life. Paul has suffered many trials and the loss of many things as he walks with Jesus, and he is ok with that. Because he knows that gaining Christ through the loss of those things will be far worth it. Counting the cost for being a Christian and jumping in both feet at one time. Knowing that His love, joy, and peace will consume my life and give me far more happiness and fulfillment than anything else I strive to gain in this lifetime. As it says in Colossians 3, “set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.” Having a heavenly mindset, realizing that what I have now is all good and well, but it will fade one day. But my relationship with Jesus Christ will last forever! And He will never let me down. So in all that, “making a sacrifice” is not really a sacrifice, because in the end we are gaining the best thing that could ever be given to us!

Application- memorize this verse by the end of the week.