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 -- 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. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:7-14).Imagine how your life would be if your concept of the ultimate value was "the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus". Imagine how your goals would change if you were aiming to "know Him and the power of His resurrection, and [share] His sufferings". This would be no trivial change.
If you're like me, you don't measure up against Paul's value system. If you're like me, you might likely kick yourself (in some way or another) over that. Indeed, Paul goes on in the passage to say, "Brothers, join in imitating me" (Phil 3:17) (something I'd never have the nerve to say). We ought to have Paul's value system. So I offer this word of encouragement. Paul said, "I do not consider that I have made it my own." Paul hadn't arrived. So it should be no surprise that neither you nor I have arrived. So let's forget the failures of the past and "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." It's a worthy goal.
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