“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.  Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings . . .”

–Philippians 3:7-10 (nkjv)

Leave all.  Take up your cross.  Sell all you have and give to the poor.  Follow Me.

He who will not is unworthy to be My disciple.

 

These are the Words of Jesus.  I couldn’t help but think, when reading in Philippians 3 today, that people like Paul are who Jesus was looking for.  When Jesus called His disciples, He didn’t look for credentials, head knowledge, or even the man who could best obey the written law by his own will power.  And we would never think that is why He called Paul.  It was actually all of those things about Paul that caused Jesus to ask him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”

 

Jesus looks for those who will be single-mindedly devoted to the Prize.  Jesus looks for those who will sacrifice, who will surrender, who will follow, who will rely on Him for their strength, who will call Him Lord, who will love Him—those who realize how much they have been forgiven that they might let go, forget the culture’s expectations of them, ignore the questions of the religious, and love Him much.  Jesus looks for those who will press on, those who need His grace, those who need His righteousness, those who cannot boast of themselves or add of themselves to His glory, those who cry out, “Take hold of me, Lord, I am weak and faithless and sinking!”

 

We ask You God to remove from us as You must, do as You must, whatever it takes, that You would be all that matters to us, the Prize that we seek, as You desire to be.  Our days are few, our will fragile, our faithfulness often compromised by this world, our passion often redirected by the religious.  Teach us to number our days, make us single-mindedly devoted, that we may know You, the fellowship of Your sufferings, and the full power of Your Resurrection.

“I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

–Philippians 3:14 (nkjv)

 

Every day the world, the religious, tempt us with luring “prizes” if only we will walk in their footsteps, bow, deny the truth, forsake the walk we have with You, stop listening intently to Your Voice and Your Voice alone.  Yet this is the only Prize that matters.  And no other prize does—not fellowship with others, friendship with another, love from family, glory, comfort, or ease. 

Teach us that we might know this so that we live it.  Teach us so that we will seek You wholeheartedly, live recklessly for You, die daily and truly for You, and love You without regret or hesitation or compromise or hindered by the unbiblical religious rules of the Pharisees.

Teach us until this is our creed above all, in all, through all: For the Prize.


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