EM/Youth

To Gain Christ

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작성자 카마리오한인연합감리교회 작성일21-04-27 18:30 조회1,592회 댓글0건

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7"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8Indeed, 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 9and 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— 10that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead" (Phil 3:7-11).


We keep asking questions. Our questions reflect our interests, which in turn reflect who we are. If someone’s mind is obsessed with the question, “How can I make the most money with the least effort?” what does this question tell us about this person? This person is greedy and lazy.

A question that we constantly ask ourselves and ponder upon and try to find the answer for tells a lot about ourselves. It tells about our relationships. For example, the question, “how can I make money enough to provide for my family?” does not exactly make the person greedy or selfish. This person wants to make money because he or she is in a loving relationship with his or her family.

What kind of person you are is shaped by what kind of relationships you are in and how devoted you are to the people with whom you have relationships with.

What kind of people are we? We are Christians. What kind of people we are has been shaped by the relationship that we have with Christ and how devoted we have become to Christ. And what kind of questions are we asking ourselves? “How can I make the most money with the least effort?” If the questions that we ask ourselves are remotely like this question, we need to question our Christian identity rather seriously.

Paul’s question was this: “How can I gain Christ, know Christ more, become united Christ more completely?” He came up with his own answer to this question: I choose Christ over everything else. The reality of life, which we need to realize sooner than later is this. We cannot have it all. We cannot have the world and Christ at the same time. We cannot have fame and Christ at the same time. We cannot enjoy wealth and enjoy God’s providence at the same time. We cannot enjoy games and enjoy learning more about God at the same time. There is not enough room in our timeline and in our heart. If you are going to choose Christ, you are going to be ready to let go of everything else. At least that is what Paul did to gain Christ. And that was how much Paul loved Christ and how much Christian Paul was.

It is a choice. And I can say this: Christ include everything. Christ comes with everything that you will ever need for your life. Choosing Christ over everything else is actually not abandoning everything but grabbing the only one that matters.

Amen.

 

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