3:7 But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ. 3:8 More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! – that I may gain Christ, 3:9 and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness – a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness. 3:10 My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, 3:11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Keep Going Forward
3:12 Not that I have already attained this – that is, I have not already been perfected – but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. 3:13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, 3:14 with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
I’ve been learning a lot lately about being the bride of Christ. And a lot about trusting God–fully and implicitely. Because you shouldn’t marry someone unless you trust them completely in every area, right? 🙂 That was always my assumption anyway.
But that assumption was challenged by a comment from Charlotte Lucas in the movie Pride and Prejudice: “He does not know her character as we do. . .but there is plenty of time for us to get to know him after they’re married.” The idea, in a nutshell, was that since Jane Bennett and Charles Bingley were well acquainted enough to trust each other on a superficial level (and since they were obviously in love), they should go ahead and tie the knot because, after all, they will get to know each other better after they are married. Of course, the story is set in a time when marriage was a much higher priority on everyone’s agenda, so sometimes people got married for less chivalrous ideas than love and romance, but still. . .it seems a logical plan of action, as long as you take into consideration that any relationship founded mostly on emotions is bound to be tested at some point. There comes a time when you have to trust each other’s character when the emotions aren’t there.
I’ve been struggling with learning to trust God well enough not to question His ways. I’m trying to learn to trust God’s character, even when it seems like what He’s allowing me to go through could hardly be an expression of His love. To trust that He really is working all things for my good, even when I can’t possibly see what that good might be. I know that a certain level of blind faith is involved, but I also want to have something to base that trust on. And hearing that quote made me see a parallel: when I initially began my relationship with God, all I needed to know was that He loved me SO MUCH, and that He could save me when I could not save myself. Essentially, God knows that I need to trust His love first of all, and then learn to trust His character as I get to know Him better.
As I was journaling and praying, trying to make sense in my mind what exactly I was asking from God, I felt silly asking the God of the universe to prove Himself before I could trust Him; but I feel that trust, by definition, is something to be earned, not just given. And it seemed as if Jesus read my heart and sent me the answer I was looking for–in an entry from My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers:
“God wants you to understand that it is a life of faith, not a life of emotional enjoyment of His blessings. Faith by its very nature must be tested and tried. And the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God’s character must be proven as trustworthy in our own minds. Faith, as the Bible teaches it, is faith in God coming against everything that contradicts Him–a faith that says, ‘I will remain true to God’s character whatever He may do.’ The highest and the greatest expression of faith in the whole Bible is–‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him’ (Job 13:15).
So, simply believing in God is easy. The difficulty in trusting God lies in when I am waiting for His character to be proven trustworthy, when I can’t see what He’s accomplishing through my hard times. And that’s when I have to remember that He does love me, so much. And I can rest and put my trust in His love.
“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.” ~Psalm 13:5-6
The other day I was walking on the stone path that winds around a nearby lake, and I came across two sweetly shy girls. They had a plastic container that held a grasshopper and they were busily hunting in the grass for more of the little critters. I asked them what they were planning to do with them, and this is what they said: “We caught some yesterday and gave them to Auntie, and she fried them and made grasshopper fry.” Not the answer I expected! The grasshopper was unwittingly facing its last moments. Content, not realizing its coming end. Tragic.
Someone told me that grasshoppers “are crunchy and taste kind of like shrimp…” I was almost convinced that they didn’t sound too bad until the description continued, “…but the legs are scratchy.” I don’t think I’ll order grasshopper anytime soon.
Sometimes finding myself in a different culture is an interesting experience! Grasshoppers are not the only things I’m learning about, though. Recently, an Asian missionary energetically challenged my roommate and I, “Throw your life. You will gain it back. These are the Master’s words. ‘Whoever finds his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will gain it.'” This is from a brother who has faced the rigors of rugged missionary life and whose burden is for a people group that has been very closed to the Gospel. Sacrifice for the sake of the Savior is worth more than it costs.
3:7 But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ. 3:8 More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! – that I may gain Christ,3:9 and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness – a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness. 3:10 My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, 3:11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
3:12 Not that I have already attained this – that is, I have not already been perfected – but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. 3:13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, 3:14 with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Sunday, on 10/10/10, I got to be part of the coolest event that day! Michele J. and Shelly, two GFA staff writers, and I represented Gospel for Asia at a birthday party in Fort Worth. But this birthday party was a “Living GFA Christmas Catalog!” This young couple with four kids decided that they would instead invite families to their house to purchase Christmas catalog items. They were so fun and creative, they made signs from blown up pictures of last year’s catalog for each of the animals in the petting zoo. Also, tables were set with stacks of Bibles or blankets with signs and information about sponsoring a missionary or Bridge of Hope child.
I got to video record the interviews we had with parents and kids. These parents just wanted their kids to not be absorbed with material possessions and realize there are people completely different from us that need help and they haven’t heard about Jesus. I recognized in these parents what I’ve seen elsewhere, a growing desire to have something real, a real faith, and to be away from the materialism and stuff. A growing knowledge that in the US many live a decent Christian or moral life but not in a way where they actually need God; self-sufficient yet knowing we do need God. It was good seeing these families depart from the cultural norm and hoping to see God work.
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