I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord . . . that I may gain Christ and be found in him. Philippians 3:8–9
In a poem that begins, “I’m nobody! Who are you?” Emily Dickinson playfully challenges all the effort people tend to put into being “somebody,” advocating instead for the joyful freedom of blissful anonymity. For “How dreary – to be – Somebody! How public – like a Frog – / To tell one’s name – the livelong June / To an admiring Bog!”
Finding freedom in letting go of the need to be “somebody” in some ways echoes the testimony of the apostle Paul. Before he met Christ, Paul had a long list of seemingly impressive religious credentials, apparent “reasons to put confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:4).
But encountering Jesus changed everything. When Paul saw how hollow his religious achievements were in light of Christ’s sacrificial love, he confessed, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord . . . . I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (v. 8). His only remaining ambition was “to know Christ . . . the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (v. 10).
It’s dreary, indeed, to attempt on our own to become “somebody.” But, to know Jesus, to lose ourselves in His self-giving love and life, is to find ourselves again (v. 9), finally free and whole.
4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, 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, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
INSIGHT
- When have you experienced freedom from seeking self-worth in achievement or from others?
- How can finding yourself “in Christ” free you from both pride and self-rejection?
In Philippians 3, Paul passionately argues that it’s futile to seek “confidence in the flesh” (v. 3). “In the flesh” alludes to circumcision, which some teachers were arguing was required to be part of God’s people. More broadly, “confidence in the flesh” references relying on any human status or achievement to be right with God—such as adherence to Jewish law (v. 9)—instead of relying on Christ (see also Romans 8:5–9). Encountering Jesus made Paul realize that relying on human strength or achievement was “garbage” (Philippians 3:8)—a word that can also be translated “dung.”
PRAYER
Loving God, thank You that I don’t need to try to be “somebody” to be loved and accepted by You. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: PHILIPPIANS 3:4-14 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: PSALMS 148-150; 1 CORINTHIANS 15:29-58
