The Surpassing Worth
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 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 9 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—
Passage
Philippians 3:1-21 - The Surpassing Worth
Conditions
A freezing day, and some frustration around the table. But family worship settled and focused us on what was good.
Time
Plenty of time. Still, I was feeling tired and was tempted to read a devotional, take as little time as necessary. Which would have been OK - "He knows our frame." But in the end, I decided to read the Bible.
Teaching
This passage is significant in my conversion and early months following Christ. So I decided to use my story as the teaching. I was prompted to start doing this by Joel Beeke's book on family worship. In it, he encourages us to share the book of our lives with our children. Otherwise, we run the risk of giving them the impression that we are merely biblical information dispensers, and not disciples, students, sheep of the Lord's pasture, who have known and tasted His kindness in all seasons of life.
The story runs like this.
Once there was a young man who had grown up outside the church without knowledge of God, and without Christian parents. He’d sinned a lot, made a lot of bad decisions, and made a big mess of his life.
But recently, the young man met a group of Christians, and they introduced him to church and the Bible. He had been reading the Bible and finding it exciting. Finally, he'd found some direction for living, some wisdom for life, he thought.
Soon after this, he met with a pastor to discuss his new faith and all that he’d been learning. He opened Philippians and read 2:3.
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Here was his new direction in life, the solution to his foolish choices and unwise living. But the pastor did something surprising. He pointed the young man over the page to 3:8.
8 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 9 and be found in him...
Then the pastor asked a simple question. What had Paul discovered about Christ to make him say such a thing? The young man was forever changed by this question and the answer it invited. Christ was the most precious thing in the entire universe, and he could become ours. Forever.
That is quite a claim. What are some things in the world that are worth a lot? Cars? Planes? Countries! Rockets, space stations? What are things that are worth something but apart from money? All the gold medals athletes win at the Olympics. All the trophies and championships sports teams win at the end of their long and difficult seasons and careers. Paul is saying that compared to Christ, these things are rubbish. Which isn’t to say that they are bad in themselves. It’s to say that Christ is so much more precious than any and all of them. If you piled them all up on one side and had Jesus on the other, Jesus would be of more worth.
Do you see the point the pastor was making to the young man? Where is the power to change? What is it that turns around a ruined life and rebellious heart? At first glance, it is instruction, the law of God. A rule for living. But there is no power to change here. There is only power to guide. The power to change is in Christ. Seeing something in Him, finding something in Him, being found in Him.
The young man’s life was never the same. I’m happy to report he still pursues the surpassing worth of Christ. He has been blessed with a family, and now has the joy of guiding his children into the surpassing worth of Christ, too.
The story of the young man is an important reminder to us. The power to change is not in the law of God, although the law of God is good. It is good for guiding us. But what changes us is Christ, and discovering our greatest treasure in Him.
The children thoroughly enjoy these stories. They suspect they are about me, of course. But I never admit that they are, which creates an eagerness to listen for clues in order to confirm the identity of the young man and young boy in the stories. It’s another reminder that children love what is theirs. They treasure what I make for them, what I give to them, even though objectively it isn’t as impressive as what someone more gifted or trained could make or give. This is an invitation to parents to be in the business of making things for their children. They are our best audience, because they receive what we make as their own, and they treasure it.