GAINING AND LOSING

Friday, January 13, 2012

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.

                                                                                                  Philippians 3:8

Remember Jim Elliot's words: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." That is what Paul experienced. He lost his religion and his reputation, but he gained far more than he lost. In fact, the gains were so thrilling that Paul considered all other things nothing but garbage in comparison!

No wonder he had joy---his life did not depend on the temporal things of the world but on the eternal values found in Christ. Paul had the spiritual mind and looked at the things of earth from heaven's point of view. People who live for things are never really happy because they must constantly protect their treasures and worry lest they lose their value. Not so believers with the spiritual mind; their treasures in Christ can never be stolen, and they never lose their value (see Matt. 6:19-21).

Perhaps now is a good time for you to become an accountant and evaluate the things that matter most to you.

(Taken from Warren W. Wiersbe's book Pause for Power--A 365-Day Journey Through The Scriptures.)