In Philippians 3, Paul writes these words: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
This is one of those verses which I can understand the words, but the commitment which lies behind it is tough to embrace. Paul is stating how completely he depends upon Christ; how everything in his life is pointed and directed to Christ.
I understand this; I desire this kind of faith; it is a struggle to live this way.
There are moments when I am with Paul. There are times when I am able to set everything else aside. But there are longer periods of time when I allow my selfish goals to dominate. There are far too many instances in which I ask, “How will this benefit me?” rather than thinking how this will build up the Body of Christ.
On this Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras, we drink in all the riches of God’s creation. We empty our houses of the leaven used to make cakes (pancakes) so that during the 40 days of Lent we will live a simpler life. The loss of a few niceties is supposed to remind us of the great loss suffered by Jesus. We are about to enter that period in the Church Year in which we seek to “count as loss” everything to which we have attached great value. It is a time to try to increase those moments when we do think of Christ first, and ourselves second. It is an opportunity to further the struggle and live in a way which reveals our love and dedication to Christ.
Get ready for tomorrow (and the beginning of Lent) by noting throughout the day the various ways in which you put yourself first.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment