Sunday, March 23, 2014

The Greatest Accomplishment

Today I want to share with you all a light bulb moment I had in church last Sunday. I can't even remember what the sermon was about, but I do remember that Philippians 3:7-11 was referenced.

           "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 fa 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—10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead."

The point the pastor made about the passage was that our greatest gain is Christ. There is nothing we can do or accomplish on this earth that can have greater value than knowing Christ. Wow, did I need to hear that! 
I have spent so much of my life discontent because I feel like I have nothing to brag about in the way of accomplishments. I have no college degree. I've never been on The Voice. I don't have some skill that people would pay to benefit from. I don't have a fancy blog that millions of people follow, etc...etc.... I've wasted a lot of time either trying to be somebody or wishing I was somebody important. But God in His mercy was kind enough to reveal to me last Sunday what I've never seen before when reading the passage from Philippians. I already have the greatest accomplishment! And it wasn't me who accomplished it. Christ accomplished my salvation on the cross. In view of that, I am to count all other things as rubbish. That means that even if I did have a popular blog, it couldn't compare to the value of knowing Christ. My worth does not come from me and what I do, but in Christ and what He did. 
Now I'm not saying all this to say that we shouldn't set out to accomplish anything. I'm just saying that what I think the point Paul was trying to make in Philippians was that it's not about us making much of ourselves but about us making much of Christ. Our purpose on this earth is not to see who can get the most trophies, but seeing to it that God gets all the glory. And He will get all the glory. Our trophies will be burned up, but our precious faith in Christ and his work on the cross will endure for all eternity. 
So whether you have accomplished all the goals you've set out to achieve, or you are "just" a wife and mom like me, let your greatest treasure be in knowing Christ. Find your worth and identity in Him and not in what you can or can't do.