LOSING IT ALL TO GAIN EVERYTHING

"But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ." - Philippians 3:7

Sometimes we don't know how rich we are until the things that matter most are taken from us.  While most Americans struggle to pay their monthly bills, it is difficult to imagine that we are rich.  Yet compared to most of the world, most Americans are very wealthy. 

While most of us do not consider ourselves to be rich, if all our possessions were taken away overnight, we'd look back and realize that God had blessed us abundantly.  We had just taken it all for granted.

Saul of Tarsus was a man who had goals and aspirations.  He had excelled in all that really mattered to him.  He had risen to a place of prominence.  He was respected among his peers.  He was living his dream.  Then he met Jesus and everything changed.

It is not uncommon to hear certain TV evangelists tell their audience that if they follow Jesus, all their bills will be paid and they will be rich & healthy.  Of course, that is not what the Bible teaches.  When Saul of Tarsus met Jesus, he did not get rich.  In fact, he lost everything. 

When a person in a Muslim country becomes a Christian, he doesn't get rich.  Instead, his conversion may cost him his life.  In some areas of the world, Christian conversion leads to a loss of job (or business) and alienation from family and long-time friends.  There is a price to pay when you follow Jesus.

For Saul of Tarsus, he lost his position, his source of income, his prestige, his relationships --- in fact, he had nothing left, except Jesus.

When you have nothing left but Jesus, you will find that Jesus is enough.  For most us, we've not experienced this level of knowledge.  We may suffer minor forms of persecution or misunderstanding, but most of us here in America did not lose everything when we began to follow Jesus.

Saul of Tarsus would later be known as the Apostle Paul.  As Paul looked back at the price he paid for following Jesus, he mused, "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ."  In other words, the things that mattered so much to Paul before conversion were now considered loss.   

Paul learned a lesson that many have to learn today.  Religion is nothing but trash.  Compared to Jesus, empty religion is just junk.  Paul had been a zealous Pharisee, religious as a person could be.  His zeal was unsurpassed.  Yet when he met Jesus, he traded his religion for something ... better yet, Someone, much better.  It cost him everything.  In hindsight, Paul realized that when he lost it all, he really gained everything.

None of us know the future.  We don't know if the stock market will crash in the coming year.  We don't know if we'll have a paycheck by the end of 2018.  We don't know if our whole economy will go bankrupt in the coming months.  Certainly we hope that none of these scenarios will unfold.  However, we must soberly ask ourselves the question:  if I lost everything but Jesus, would Jesus be enough for me?  Paul knew the answer to that question when it came to his own life.  That scenario had become a reality for him.  He was a follower of Jesus and there was no turning back.  He knew Jesus was worth following.  He realized that to lose it all, and gain Jesus, had made him a winner.

It is not the amount of money in the bank that matters most.  Neither is it the number of "friends" that you have on Facebook.  In life, there are those silent moments when you have nothing and no one but Jesus.  When you face your greatest pain, you will only have Jesus to help you through it.  When you are heartbroken, only the Lord can comfort you.  When you face death, only the Lord will walk with you through that experience. 

Jesus is more valuable than all the wealth of the world.  Do you believe that?  For Paul, he lost everything when he met Jesus.  He knew had gained it all. 

Whether you have millions in the bank or you're so poor that you don't have a dime in your pocket, you are rich if Jesus dwells in your heart.  This world & all its riches will soon pass away, but Jesus will still be Lord. 

To lose the temporary riches of this world in order to possess the eternal wealth of knowing Christ is not really a loss at all.  It is gain of incalculable proportions.