Day 16 - Enjoy the Silence

Philippians 3:7-14 ----

⁷But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ⁹and 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 and is by faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Hi y'all.

Okay, this might be a tough question, but take the time to think about it, what have you lost for the sake of knowing Christ? A group of friends? A relationship? Family harmony? Habits, ways of spending free time, or patterns of behaviour that didn't really mesh with your passion to grow in Christ?

So, check this out, sometimes Christians try to make the life of faith more appealing by glossing over the losses and considering only the gains. To be honest, the Christian life is both. Granted, the gains outweigh the losses big time, but both are real, and we're likely to feel them both vividly.

Paul, the guy who wrote this passage, is very honest about the whole thing. He used the words, loss, lost, rubbish, etc.... Okay, close your eyes for a few minutes and consider the word loss. "Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ" How does that loss feel to you? What does it mean for you in terms of your relationship with Jesus? JOURNAL!

If Paul were sitting with you right now He would want you to know that this passage isn't all about Loss; it's totally about gain. "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things, I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him."

Meditate on that phrase. What does it mean for you to personally gain Christ? What have you gained through knowing Christ and being found in him? Try to move beyond Sunday School language here. Be specific. How has gaining Christ impacted your relationships, your perspective in life, your hopes, your fears, or your desires?

Think through that, and while you do think of this phrase, "found in Him." That's a pretty powerful image. Where do you find yourself with Him right now? At His feet, at His side, in His arms, in His lap? Take a few minutes to linger there. Journal what you're feeling.

Breathing

-Colton.