Philippians 3:7-9

Philippians 3:7-9

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending a beautiful funeral that concluded at a veterans cemetery, atop a small hill, that overlooked the surrounding countryside. As we slowly drove through that place of rest, a place with hundreds of headstones of past soldiers perfectly aligned across a finely groomed lawn, my eyes rested on each name at the head of each row. Each name represented a life that had graced this earth at one point in time, a life that held great purpose. It was a humbling moment, as if looking out across that field seemed to stop time in some sense. The men and women laid to rest in this field once had full lives…they had busy schedules, tasks to complete, victories to achieve, defeats to overcome…and yet, on this cold, windy day in December 2016, all that they had once been consumed with in this life had come to a close. The things that had once seemed so important and necessary to these individuals were of absolutely no significance anymore. It was humbling…it was sobering…as I realized how the goals of each day on this earth can absolutely rule our lives, becoming all consuming, and crowding out what is of most importance. Paul writes the words above to the church in Philippi, and he keys on the critical realization that everything is secondary to knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. Our jobs, our money, our importance, our fame, our pride, our desires, our health…everything, everything comes second. Now it is good to enjoy the blessings in this life, it is good to enjoy the things that God has given us for our benefit…it’s good to enjoy our work, to enjoy the material gifts, to enjoy the worldly victories and triumphs. But none of this should surpass knowing Christ. Nothing should outrank our relationship with the Creator, nothing should outrank our faith in His Son. Everything should be secondary to knowing Christ Jesus…everything. And if there is something that is preventing that relationship…if there is something that is getting in the way of us knowing, serving, and loving our God with every fiber of our being, then we need to cast that thing aside. Today. Now. No hesitation, no regret. We are blessed with life on this earth, but not one of us knows when that life will come to an end. That is known only by the Father. But if we are deeply rooted in Christ, then when we do get that final “eviction notice”, we can stand firm, without a speck of doubt, that we will be called into God’s glorious kingdom. What was great about the funeral ceremony yesterday is that the man we were bidding farewell was a believer, a man rooted in Christ Jesus. So while we mourned our loss and dealt with our sadness, we rejoiced in the victory that was occurring in heaven. We rejoiced in the fact that this man was being reunited with the Father, face to face, creation with Creator. And we rejoiced in knowing that that one day down the line, we would all get to see this man again, when we take our own victory walk into heaven. Oh what a day it will be! To God be all glory and honor!