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Philippians 3:7-9, But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 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 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

What is it about us as human beings that we are always seeking after things that make us look good compared to other people? The apostle Paul in this scripture is speaking to this dynamic.  He experienced it too.  Earlier in this chapter, Paul talks about his background.  He had quite the Jewish pedigree, as he was circumcised at exactly the right time and was born into a pure-blooded Jewish family from the tribe of Benjamin.  He says in verse 5, “I was a real Jew if ever there was one.”  He was a member of the Pharisees and was zealous.  At the time, Paul thought those things were extremely important. So, if we think of a ledger sheet, these things were all gains, his religious merit badges so to speak.  They were also a source of pride for Paul; in his mind, he was proving his “spiritual worth” to God and those around him.

Then Paul meets Jesus and everything changes.  He writes, But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 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.  Now that he knows Jesus, everything else pales in comparison.  Those spiritual merit badges are no longer gains, they are now losses.  The ledger sheet gets corrected. 

Think about it: those things I thought were so important, those things that I thought demonstrated my value, those things that I thought earned me some gold stars with God – they are nothing.  Jesus is everything.  But Paul goes one step further.  Not only are these spiritual merit badges counted as losses now that he knows Jesus, he actually says that he considers them to be garbage.  His whole life, these were things that brought huge amounts of pride, they were what made him admired in his community.  He was a real Jew if ever there was one, he was learned, he knew the law backwards and forwards.  His family was adhered to tradition and they were admired and esteemed.  And now, these things are like rubbish in comparison to knowing Jesus Christ. 

Our spiritual merit badges truly have no value in comparison to the grace we have through Jesus.  Now, this doesn’t mean that these things are worthless, but we have to know their place.  If you led a Bible study and people grew in their walk with Jesus and lives were changed, then that is amazing.  It made a huge difference for God's Kingdom but it didn't make put you in a better place before God.  Jesus already did that for you! These things don’t make us better than others, they don’t increase our value before God, and they don’t make us better Christians.  When we know Jesus, our value isn’t in this stuff, our value is totally and completely found in him. If all our spiritual merit badges were stripped away, we would have the same standing before God.  My worth as a person, my worth as a Christ-follower, is not found in any of these things I've done.  My worth is totally and completely found in Jesus. 

Do you believe this? 

Let's pray...Jesus, Thank you, thank you, thank you.  I am chosen, adopted, and loved.  My worth is found in you and you alone.  Amen.