Today’s Encouragement is, “For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.” Philippians 3:8b NLT
Everything Else –
Paul discarded everything else in order to gain Christ. This life is a mist (James 4:14).
We naturally recoil at this concept. Like the wealthy young man who wished to justify himself to Jesus (see Matthew 19:16-22), we cling to our wealth and possessions. We also desperately try to hold on to our youth, health, reputation, and even to our earthly life!
We look at these things, ‘everything else’ as if it had eternal value. But in truth, we will leave it all behind in a few years or days; life is evanescent. However, we acknowledge, spiritually, that only knowing, gaining, and believing in Jesus is eternal, lasting, and valuable.
The reality is, we are granted the blessings of our earthly life, health, wealth, reputation, and accomplishments for our pleasure, and for a short time on this earth. Sometimes we might lose one, many, or all of them. But we must remember, they are all just garbage compared to our faith in Jesus, our Relationship with Him, our identity as His people, and our Eternal Life with Him!
Thank You Father, for telling us The Truth! For clearly showing us our need for a Savior, and for providing Jesus to not only save us, but to be with us now and in eternity, as our Lord, Savior, and Friend. Everything else is garbage.
The Cause of Christ
Kari Jobe