I've been thinking a lot lately about Philippians 3:7-14. Basically, Paul examines the things of value here on earth and points out that compared to knowing Christ is Lord, they are all worth absolutely nothing. Paul says he counts EVERYTHING as loss because of the far surpassing worth of knowing Christ. So lately I've been wondering exactly what that means. Does he mean that any time not spent towards the kingdom is a complete loss? Or is he saying he's willing to give up everything for the sake of Christ? Actually, he does say that later--even the things he has suffered for his faith don't matter because he is gaining Christ as a result.
So, what is the rubbish in my life? What is complete loss because it has nothing to do with knowing Christ? What of my relative "sufferings" should I embrace as leading me closer to being found in Christ? What does it mean to become like Christ in His death? In His death he gave up His entire life so that we could be holy before God. So we also should be giving up our lives in some form.
But here is my constant struggle and what I am not figuring out--what does that look like?? I ask a lot of question but don't have a lot of answers. Are there models of this life here in America?? I certainly have a lot here, even though I know I could pretty easily abandon this lifestyle and go somewhere with absolutely nothing. Maybe my problem is that I view the things of this life as rubbish. I look at job, status, friends, family, and possessions as good things. Some of them are perceived as "Christian values." But Paul says he counts EVERYTHING as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ as Lord. Maybe the problem is we don't treasure that knowledge the way we should. Which makes me wonder, do we really possess it? I mean, imagine the most priceless treasure in the world. Who among us could look upon that and not recognize its beauty, not wish it for ourselves? And if we had it, how could it not consume our entire being? How could we not want to look at it, touch it, and show it to everyone we see?
So to sum up: do I recognize the surpassing greatness of having Christ in my life? If so, then everything else that I am working towards is a lost cause, worthless. If that's not the case, then what am I missing? How do I keep forgetting that?
7 comments:
You raise some very good questions. Some that I have been thinking about a bit myself lately.
Paul says that everything that would have counted to his gain, he considers loss. That part I think I get. We can't find our worth in anything else but God.
But then he goes on to say that even more than that, he considers everything loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ. He considers them rubbish (which apparently is better translated as dog crap).
Every time I start to think that maybe I'm understanding the Gospel as more extreme than it's meant to be, I read something like this and come to the conclusion that a whole lot of us are missing the point entirely.
Do I really wholeheartedly want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings more than anything else in this world? To the point where everything else is as valuable to me as a pile of dog crap? Am I even close to like the man who found a treasure in a field and sold everything he had because of the unbelievable quality of this treasure? I don't think so. But I want to be. How to do that is the question.
So in my mini-blog comment to your blog, I think I've come to the same conclusion as you. I'll stop now before this becomes longer than your blog post, which is written much more eloquently than my comment.
Peace.
Thanks David. That story about the man who found the treasure in the field and sold everything he had is essentially what I was getting at. And I definitely don't view everything that this world has to offer as, as you so eloquently put it, dog crap. I mean, Paul says everything. That includes babies, puppies, chocolate cake, the office, mothers, fathers, sports, really comfortable couches and high speed internet! It's rubbish compared to the value of Christ. In fact...you just triggered a follow-up post!
Two things. First, in the verses in Philippians 3 right after that Paul says:
"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings....Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it." Paul's not saying he's got it down, only that he wants to know Christ that way.
Second, I think that Paul is saying in this chapter that to take pride and to find our identity in accomplishments, actions, physical characteristics, or anything other than God is to miss the point. I don't think that Paul would say that everything you're working towards is worthless. Only that everything's worth is valued in how it brings you into relationship with Christ.
Gosh, two great posts on here that are bringing up old memories.
I'm so out of touch these days. These used to be some of my favorite verses. I even had a shirt, that for the life of me I can't remember the exact phrase anymore. Basically I'd made a shirt that said: "It's All Poop" or something, based on this verse since the original greek is "rubbish" or probably more contextualized: "sh#@"
And honestly, I wish I still felt that way, and in some ways I think I do, but I'm just not sure it's the same good old religious way I used to. I sure need to sort out my thoughts on this stuff sometime.
Do you guys remember that shirt? Why can't I remember exactly what it said...
I'm not sure that Paul argues against taking joy in "babies, puppies, chocolate cake, the office, mothers, fathers, sports, really comfortable couches and high speed internet!" Babies, being humans, would require a good Christification as they grow up, so unless you have Damien, I think Paul is probably for them. Chocolate cake is a product of God's world that you can appreciate as a divine gift, right? The office? Same thing (unless it's the office in which you work, in which case you're a very odd person). All of them have something to love and value and appreciate.
I think the point of it all is to appreciate things in God's light, not ours, and to be willing to throw things away for God's purposes, a-la Abraham (or Ibrahim) in the Old Testament (Torah, Koran). Paul uses some heavy language to make a very strong point, but that same language can unfortunately be interpreted to propound an ascetic lifestyle, which I don't believe was the point (remember that Jesus never said the rich don't get to heaven, just that it's really, really hard).
Oh, oh, pick me! I want to put my two sense in too!
I think the crux of what Paul is getting at here isn't so much what does it look like to consider nice things that aren't Christ as rubbish, but what it looks like to make Christ the CENTRAL focus of all things.
Handing out food to people in need is rubbish, if not done with the lens that Christ is present, calling you in some way to that action and more valuable himself than the food you're giving out. Family members are rubbish, if not seen as gifts from God that Christ made possible through his death and resurrection.
My thoughts.
Good insights, guys! First off, i'm glad the consensus is I can still enjoy chocolate cake, as long as it is valued in how it brings me in relationship to Christ. :o)
Joel, I really liked the reminder that even Paul says he hasn't attained it. I hadn't thought of it like that, Paul is saying he should have this God-centered focus in the way he looks at all of his accomplishments.
Ariah, I'm not sure what your shirt said, although I do remember those shirts. I'm excited to follow along as you try to figure out exactly what you do believe these days!
Dave, I think you are absolutely right, although I'm not sure how I feel about the last part. I mean, Jesus didn't just say that it's really really hard for a rich man to get into heaven. He said it is easier for a camel to fit in the eye of a needle. After having some firsthand experience with camels, I've realized that they are quite large creatures. Not to mention stubborn. They do not do what they are told without putting up quite a fuss (at least, they don't like to have humans standing on their necks w/o a fuss). So I'm not sure how I feel about that exactly...but it's probably another post for another time.
And Devin thanks for the reminder that even the good things we do, like handing out food (or serving in the Peace Corps) are all rubbish if they aren't done through that relationship and knowledge of Christ and His action in our lives.
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