Philippians 3: 4b-14 (NRSV)
Read Philippians 3: 4b-14 on biblegateway.com
Verse 4even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: Verse 5circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; Verse 6as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Verse 7Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. Verse 8More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
Verse 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. Verse 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, Verse 11if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Verse 12Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Verse 13Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, Verse 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
Devotion
We've all heard the saying, "You can't take it with you." Yet many of us perhaps live as though we don't quite believe it. Even for those in the church the temptation to accumulate material things plagues our society. But I'm guessing none of us has ever seen an armored car riding low on it's suspension from the weight of the gold inside?
So what does remain? Only our relationships. However even here, the one who spends a life chasing things may on his or her deathbed; find those relationships somewhat "thin", like Scrooge with the Ghost of Christmas future from Charles Dickens,"A Christmas Carol".
The Apostle Paul knew that the heart of relationships was love. The bonds of love forged with family and friends remain. The love of God in Christ remains. Those who love us will mourn when we die. Christ who loves us will love us still in death, and through death to life anew. It is that life, that love, that hope that drove the apostle forward, pressing toward that goal which is promised also to you in Christ Jesus. Press on!
Prayer
Jesus, be my goal. Deepen this day my love for you. Fill my cup with a love that sustains, a love I can share with family, with friends and even with my enemy. Amen.