"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him." Philippians 3:7-9 (NIV)
"I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him." Philippians 3:7-9 (NLT)
"I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him." Philippians 3:7-9 (NLT)
The Apostle Paul wrote passionately of his deep desire to know God and communicated his longing for the church at Philippi to know Him as well. Deeply. Intimately. Closely. In ways that are so amazing that nothing else counts as anything. In fact, he calls everything else "rubbish," "garbage," and "worthless" in comparison to knowing Christ.
Have you ever wondered what "everything else" means? Very simply put, it means "everything else." It means being willing to count everything we value as worthless.
One way we can think about that are the distractions in our lives. What are some of those distractions?
Job
Family
Home
Material Things
Sports
Projects
Computer
Hobbies
Electronic Games
Activities (including things we get our kids involved in)
Body Building
Camping
Traveling
and, yes, even...ministry
The list could go on and on, but those are a few that come to mind.
When I think about distractions, I picture myself standing before the Lord someday. My salvation is secure, but I imagine myself mentally running through my life and noticing all the things I thought were important. The community leadership positions I held. The Little League teams I coached. The awards my kids won on their sports teams. The remodeling I did of our homes. The vacations we took as a family. The sermons I wrote and preached. The new cars I bought. The list goes on and on.
I sincerely believe that on that day, all of that is going to seem sorely insignificant in comparison with knowing God. On that day I will see with clear eyes that all of it is garbage and rubbish in comparison to knowing Him.
My prayer is that all of us see with those clear eyes now so that we will make knowing God our number one priority.
Talk to me. What are your thoughts?
Have you ever wondered what "everything else" means? Very simply put, it means "everything else." It means being willing to count everything we value as worthless.
One way we can think about that are the distractions in our lives. What are some of those distractions?
Job
Family
Home
Material Things
Sports
Projects
Computer
Hobbies
Electronic Games
Activities (including things we get our kids involved in)
Body Building
Camping
Traveling
and, yes, even...ministry
The list could go on and on, but those are a few that come to mind.
When I think about distractions, I picture myself standing before the Lord someday. My salvation is secure, but I imagine myself mentally running through my life and noticing all the things I thought were important. The community leadership positions I held. The Little League teams I coached. The awards my kids won on their sports teams. The remodeling I did of our homes. The vacations we took as a family. The sermons I wrote and preached. The new cars I bought. The list goes on and on.
I sincerely believe that on that day, all of that is going to seem sorely insignificant in comparison with knowing God. On that day I will see with clear eyes that all of it is garbage and rubbish in comparison to knowing Him.
My prayer is that all of us see with those clear eyes now so that we will make knowing God our number one priority.
Talk to me. What are your thoughts?
I feel like God has been "birthing" in my heart this notion of knowing Him intimately for several months now. I do desire that more and more. I lose my focus easily, though, and also find myself not listening to Him when He tries to guide my thinking. My prayer is that He will help me to see Him first and only, and see everything else through His eyes.
ReplyDeleteBeverly
Just wondering, who else struggles with the whole focus thing? I believe it's very real! Focus requires intense concentration, and we're lead to flitting from thing to thing -- and call it "multi-tasking".
ReplyDeletePJ
The concept of focus has been something that God has been dealing with me on too. My heart's desire is to focus on Him throughout my day and to let that focus not get blurry just because of the busyness of my day. I ask that from Him and I know that He is there beside me, helping me to stay focused. The struggle comes when His still, small voice speaks and I don't immediately obey. Rather, I might put some thought into what He said, I may consider it and even say, "okay, I'll do that when I am finished with this". I need to walk with Him and joyfully and immediately obey what He says to do. Now that's a challenge!
ReplyDelete