Phil.3:7-9a – “Things I once counted valuable I now consider worthless—all because of what Christ has done. Compared to the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, what I used to call gold I now call garbage. Grace has turned my value system upside down. Jesus is now my treasure, and I want more of him.”
Dear Lord Jesus, as I meditate on Paul’s words, I catch the aroma of a free man, a heart man, a joyful man, a graced man—a man I want to become more like. He adored you; he didn’t just appreciate you. Things that used to consume him, no longer even amused him. Knowing you claimed exclusive rights on the category “infinite value” in Paul’s life. Do the same for us, and in us.
Phil.3:9b – “The only righteousness I now rely on for a relationship with God is the righteousness he has given me through faith in Christ. Christ is my righteousness, period. Gospel believing, not law keeping, has made me Abba’s child and a part of Jesus’ Bride.”
We can’t over-hear and over-grasp this Good News: From beginning to end, salvation is from you, by you, and for your glory. Our good works are now the fruit, not the root, of a Gospel-shaped life. Why is this hard to hold onto 24/7? Why are we so allergic to grace? Why do we default to performance-ism, Lord? Free us.
Phil.3:10 – “I want to know Christ more intimately and experience the mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead. I want to suffer with him—going with him into the broken places he is making new. I want to take up his cross as my cross, becoming more and more like him”
Jesus, we know you’re not calling us into the “paralysis of analysis”—but there is genuine barrenness to an unexamined life. May Paul’s prayer become ours. Help us reaffirm what really matters. Free us to desire and seek you above anything else. So Very Amen.