Yesterday, we saw how much Timothy, Epaphroditus and Paul were willing to give up in order to serve the Lord. In today’s passage, Paul goes even further. He says that knowing Christ, even if it involves great suffering, is more valuable than anything else he could have in his life.

And make no mistake – Paul had a lot going for him before he became a Christian. He had checked all the boxes of his Jewish faith. He could boast of the right family history. He had honestly tried to keep the Law of God – at least in the way the Pharisees had told him to. In fact, he took his faith so seriously that he became a persecutor of those who believed in Jesus (vv. 5-6).

And then Jesus revealed Himself to Paul on the road to Damascus and rocked his world off of its foundations. After that, Paul says in verses 7 and 8 that he not only began to consider Jesus as more important than all those beliefs and relationships and genealogies in which he had taken so much pride. No, compared to knowing Christ, he saw all those things as no better than trash.

And so, instead of trying to earn his own salvation through keeping the Law or by going through ceremonies like circumcision, verse 9 says that all Paul wanted was to have the righteousness of Christ credited to his account. And verse 10 affirms that he would choose Christ over everything else, even if that meant sharing in His suffering and death.

So, can we take another look at our own priorities? Are we still trying to earn God’s favor by what we do or what we leave undone? Are we still digging in the garbage, thinking that’s where we’ll find eternal, resurrection life? Or are we resting in only thing of real value in this world, the righteousness of Christ? Do we cherish our relationship with Him more than anyone or anything else?

Philippians 3:1-11 (ESV)

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh–
4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:
5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people 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 righteousness under the law, blameless.
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 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
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith–
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.