Paul's Profit & Loss Statement
May 10, 2010 by Howard Baker | 0 Comments
Philippians 3: 7-11
Why would Paul divest himself of every earthly asset and then call them garbage? He gives one strong, but simple reason: the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ!
He knew that Jesus was either everything or He was nothing.
He knew, in the words of a psalm he had prayed many times, that, “A day in your courts is better than a thousand outside.” (Psalm 84:10)
He knew, in the words he himself wrote in 2 Corinthians 4: 6-7, that those many things were only “earthen vessels” and that Jesus was the “treasure” of incalculable value. Paul defied the insane human tendency to venerate the vessel and neglect the treasure. Vessels are necessary, but only to carry the treasure. This is true of our physical bodies as well as of our institutions and organizations.
Can you imagine how silly it would be to receive as a gift a priceless masterpiece, only to hang the box on the wall instead of the painting? As ludicrous as it is to value the box over the masterpiece, it is even more so to value any “earthen vessel” above the Jesus treasure that it contains.
Is Jesus my treasure? The best way to answer that question is to ask another: Do I value Jesus as my source of wisdom and strength for every aspect of my life?
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