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. Ephesians 3:7-9
The apostle Paul had position, power and popularity, some very sought after things in today’s society. Compared to what He found in a relationship to God through Jesus Christ, they were garbage. Part of his understanding changed when he understood that by God’s grace, he received an imputed righteousness based on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, not his own ability to keep the law. It is this salvation by grace through faith, that he writes about in the book of Ephesians.
I feel the same way. Whatever “gain” I had in life before Jesus came into my life, it is garbage by comparison.
God, on this Sunday morning I feel a need to receive Your grace anew. I want to say that what Jesus did on the cross matters to me. When I take communion today, I will be thinking about that intently. Meanwhile, I am grateful for the grace You have shown me and continue to impart to me. As Keith Green sang… ‘and when Your eye is on this child, your grace abounds to me’. Thank you!
