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 refuse… Philippians 3:8
Two distinctions need to be made immediately. First, Paul refers to Jesus not as His Savior or Friend, but Lord. The designation clearly implies the pre-eminence of the One who has undisputable authority to extract obedience from the other. Secondly, Paul has not merely given up garbage or thrown away baseball cards or girlie magazines, but all rights to himself. Christ can help Himself to his life in any way He chooses. Paul’s self-abasement exalts Jesus as the worthy Lamb of God, slain for his sins.
We are willing to render sacrifice for the sake of love. There is emotional satisfaction in the bargain. We are the people who say “the Lord” this and “the Lord” that with astonishing familiarity. How do we feel about lordship that steers a direct course into the rough waters of shocking self-denial? Such a vessel of surrender has no cargo space for sentimentality. Put another way, we could be happily humming a favorite tune and pretend we are catching a glimpse of Eden. Take the lovely hymn In The Garden. “And He walks with me and He talks with me / And He tells me I am His own / And the joy we share as we tarry there / None other has ever known.” What if a rude awakening finds us trading paradise for Gethsemane, where as baited and trapped Christ-followers we face two equally unappealing choices: desertion or persecution? (Part 1 of 2)
Comment: Alexander the Great had made Philippi the capital of the Greek Empire. The city was named for his father, Philip of Macedonia. Eventually it came under Roman rule. While on his second missionary journey, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia begging him, “Come over to help us.” After arriving in Philippi, he went about founding the first Christian church in Europe. Acts 16:13 describes how the apostle met Lydia down by the river, who became his first baptized convert of a mostly Gentile congregation. He revisited Philippi on his third missionary journey and the believers there gave generously to support his ministry. From the time it was founded, the church was healthy, strong, and generous, becoming a model church except for some minor problems of disunity. Paul’s thank-you letter to the Philippians was written from Rome and is the most personal of all his missives, attesting to his keen love for people and his passionate devotion to His Lord, Jesus Christ. The most doctrinal passage is in Phil. 2:5-8 and describes the kenosis – the self- emptying of the obedient Son of God. Oddly, while reading the newspaper at breakfast, a fat headline on the FAITH page got the attention of this native-born European: In Europe’s empty churches, prayer and confessions make way for drinking, dancing. Some former houses of worship serve as hotels, libraries, and cultural centers. One church houses a brewery and another a night club. An unfazed Paul would merely remind us that “the church” is not a building, but the Body of Christ. Break out the fans if you must when the AC goes out in the sanctuary, but let 's dare to grow bolder in our faith and implore the Holy Spirit to fan its flame into our city, country, and the far reaches of God’s world!
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