That I May Know Christ

 May 11, 2024

Saturday

Following Jesus is the greatest commitment anyone can make. It requires placing your relationship with Christ above all other relationships. It requires that personal comforts not be considered when following Him. It requires that any of the advantages of the accolades in this world, family privilege, economic status or professional position be considered as inferior to walking with Jesus. The Apostle Paul would write:

Philippians 3:4–11 (NASB 2020) ⁴ although I myself could boast as having confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he is confident in the flesh, I have more reason: ⁵ circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. ⁷ But whatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ. ⁸ More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ, ⁹ and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, ¹⁰ that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; ¹¹ if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Sometimes translators try to relate to people by giving a more common English word rather than the best translation. Paul says that he considers all of who he was mere rubbish in this translation. However, this word (skuballon in the Greek) is only used here in all the New Testament. It is used in the common writings of the time to describe the rotting, half-eaten flesh of a corpse or as dung. It was not mere rubbish because we can all tell stories of people who keep rubbish around. Some people have yards with things we would consider rubbish sitting in them. Some people are driving vehicles that we would consider rubbish. But when it comes to dung only those with a mental sickness keep it around. No one in their right mind displays it on their walls or coffee tables. No one uses it for anything profitable except fertilizer. People simply want it done away with. This is the meaning that Paul is using here.

Knowing Christ, the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings has overtaken all the things Paul's contemporaries would have praised him for. Paul places a much higher value on knowing Jesus than pursuing the things of this world. He sees his reward as he works. He seeks to attain the resurrection from the dead. He is not working for his salvation but is working out his salvation.

This commitment must cause us to pause and evaluate our lives. Am I where Paul was when he wrote this? Who can actually say? It is a step by step, day be day process of abandoning self and walking with our Lord. It must be worth it for Paul has given up the easy life to know his Lord.

Is it worth it for you?