Gain from loss

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TODAY'S SPECIAL: Philippians 3:1-11

TO CHEW ON: "Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ." Philippians 3:8

Would we, like Paul, have a list of things we've given up to "gain Christ"? Paul once had status as a model Jewish man and a Pharisee. Not just any Pharisee either but one who put hands and feet to his convictions against the upstart Christ-following sect  by hunting them down, persecuting and killing them. But the Damascus Road incident took place. Paul met Jesus. Then ".. what things were gain I have counted loss for Christ" - Philippians 3:7.

It's a paradox: gain from loss.

Jesus' teaching had many references to this paradox:

To a rich young man who wanted to be perfect and assured Jesus he had kept the law, Jesus said: " '… go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me' " - Matthew 19:21.

Later in answering His disciples' questions about what He has just said, Jesus said: " ' And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first' " - Matthew 19:29,30.

After Peter rebuked Jesus for talking about dying, Jesus explained to Peter and all the disciples the sobering choice they were making: " 'Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it' " - Mark 8:34,35.

Another time Jesus spoke about position and made this startling claim: " 'If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all' ” - Mark 9:35.

Still another time He taught: " 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain' " - John 12:24,25.

So we see that in his willingness to lose everything for the sake of knowing Christ, Paul was just tapping into the mindset of his Master.

I ask myself, have I done that? Have you? What does it mean to "deny" myself, to "take up my cross," to "save" or "lose" my life, to "hate it" or "love it," to "count all things as loss" in exchange for knowing Christ. Does it have implications for what I do with my money and possessions, my time, relationships, goals, ambitions, the career I choose? I'll be pondering these questions today.


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please help me to understand in terms of everyday living, this paradox of gain from loss, and be willing to test it in my life. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Not chosen

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 1:12-26

TO CHEW ON: “And they prayed and said, ‘You O Lord who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen….And they cast lots and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” Acts 1:24,26

I’m sure you know what it feels like to be overlooked, the one not chosen. You let your name stand for a committee and the other person is picked. You enter a contest and when you look at the list of winners, your name isn’t there. You let the boss know you're interested in an open position, but he gives it to someone else.

This is what happened to Joseph Barsabas Justus, one of the two men the apostles chose to fill the vacancy on their ‘board’ left by Judas. They cast lots to make the final choice and the lot fell to the other man, Matthias. I wonder how J. B. Justus felt after that – rejected, slighted, discouraged, snubbed by the very God he worshiped? For the belief was that God revealed His will by how the lot fell.

Though the disappointments in our lives come at the hands of others and not as directly from God as it appeared here, our belief that God is in the details of life may make our failure seem just as much a verdict from Him. So how do we handle situations when we’re not chosen? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Look for reasons we were disqualified. We can ask God to show us if there is some lack of qualification or skill, or some attitude or action that would disqualify us. In a passage that talks about physical healing, James says that dealing with our known sins impacts whether or not our prayers will be answered. (James 5:13-16)

2. We can ask ourselves why we feel so disappointed. This helps us uncover our expectations and motivations. Were they self-serving?

3. We can focus on becoming the people that are pleasing to God in the hidden places. These include prayer, living in forgiveness, fasting, and giving (money, charity, time) without fanfare and hope of being rewarded.

4. We can give our lives to God anew, surrendering everything including our confusing expectations and motivations.

We never hear again about Joseph B. Justus. I hope he didn’t scoop his ball and run home in a sulk. I hope he stayed around to serve tables, head the prayer chain or fix widows’ roofs, realizing he was chosen for those things or something else just as important.

PRAYER: Dear God, it’s hard for me not to feel disappointed when I’m not chosen for things on which I’ve set my heart. Help me to learn from these disappointments and to live the life You’ve chosen for me with joyful acceptance. Amen.

MORE: "We Bow Down" - Viola Grafstrom, Kingsway Thankyou Music




(This is a re-post from May 14, 2010.)