To Encourage You

Philippians 3:7-9 “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. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order 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 comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith”

Isn’t it true that, for the most part, we all do what we want to do?  We follow the things we follow, engage in the things we do, and believe the things that we believe because we think that these are the very best things for us.  So, it is no surprise that a person who doesn’t know Christ would be resistant to the changes in life that would be inevitable if they suddenly became a follower of Christ.  Why on earth would they do this?  Of what benefit would it be to them?  In essence, they are blind to what might come if they made such a change, because it would be going to a place they had never been, and, for whatever reason, they think that their life at this moment has got to be better, because it’s something that’s familiar to them. They’re settled in. They’re doing just fine, thank you, so why on earth would they change? 

Of course, if the Holy Spirit never moves on an unbeliever’s heart, they won’t change, and in fact they can’t change for, as Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).  Although every single believer was once an unbeliever and knows full well what they once were, they can tell someone until they’re blue in the face how much more wonderful it is to be a believer, but if God doesn’t move someone’s heart, they’ll never change.  In other words, no one can talk someone else into being a believer, for only God can give a spiritually dead person life. 

Still, one of the best examples of the wonders of salvation is the testimony of a person who has been saved. As the apostle Paul said in the verses above, everything that he had considered so valuable in his former life, things like his status, his heritage, his national identity, his religion, and his possessions, he now counted as worthless compared to the measureless blessings of knowing Christ.  Here was a man who had once hated Christ, Christianity, and Christians who now saw these same things as the most precious things in all the world.  Why would he say such things if they weren’t true?  Here was one that was speaking from experience. He knew what he once was, and he knew what he once had, but when he left those things behind to follow Christ, he was not worse off for it, but much, much better off. In fact, the change was so wonderful that he would rather be sitting in prison (which is where he was when he wrote these words) with his new life than to be walking around in freedom without it. 

That’s the way it is for any true believer. Each and every one of them finds that “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).  There’s no comparison – these new things compared to the old.  As Paul says above, the old life is like rubbish when one discovers the new life in Christ. 

So, what about you?  Do you somehow think that your current life without Christ is as good as it gets? Do you think that there couldn’t possibly be anything better for you if you were a Christian?  Do you wonder what attraction Jesus and a life lived for Him could possibly have to a person? Well if you think this way, please consider that you are speaking from a place of inexperience and ignorance, for you can’t know what believers know. You’ve never been where they are. On the other hand, every believer knows what you know, for they were once there themselves, and they will all tell you to a person that what you are holding onto is rubbish compared to what they have now.