“Paul’s message to us today is simply this: If we want to increase our joy despite our past, we need to recalculate what really matters. We need to cut our losses in the things we once trusted in and make a shift to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As Jim Elliot, a martyred Christian missionary . . . said, ‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.’ “- Randy Frazee
“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.”- Philippians 3:7-8 (NIV)
In Principle #12: What Really Matters of The Joy Challenge, Randy Frazee notes that after Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he opted to seriously recalculate what really mattered in his life. Most significantly, Randy states, the name of Jesus appears three times in verses 7-8 of the above text. Because Paul now considered the person of Jesus and a personal relationship with Jesus to be of great value.
Furthermore, Randy observes, Paul used the word consider twice in verse 8. In the Greek, Paul wrote the word in two different tenses. When Paul used consider the first time, he referred to one specific day. On that day he settled things in his mind and made his final decision. Thus, Paul chose to shift his net worth from his performance to his position in Jesus.
However, the second time Paul used the verb, he meant making daily decisions. Not to depend on who he was, his possessions, or his accomplishments. And when Paul used the word garbage, a pretty gross word in Greek, he minced no words. He expressed his true feelings.
In conclusion, Randy exhorts:
“When we align ourselves with the will of God and yield our lives to the Spirit of God within us, it unleashes the power of God in and through us to do way more than we could do in our own strength. . . . No matter how difficult today seems, like sitting in prison for your faith, it pales in comparison to how our story ends — or rather, begins.”
Today’s question: What most helped you recalculate what really matters? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: the September Short Meditation, “Our great surprise – Jesus”