If anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the more can I.
Paul thought he had a good thing going when he was living according to the flesh. He was living righteousness as he understood it with exceeding zeal. He considered himself blameless before God. Imagine the confidence that such self-image would have given him. It is certain that it must have felt pretty good most of the time. But something was still missing.
But whatever gains I had,
these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ.
Paul was working hard. But even with all that hard work there was something he could not achieve. We can learn from his lesson too. Are we struggling to do things and fulfill certain roles? Are we acting programmatically based on dead letters? What if we, like Paul, like God break into our lives in a new and dynamic way?
More than that, I even consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
There is not a way to order our lives and live righteously that is going to satisfy us. Only relationship with Christ Jesus our Lord is going to give us that which we seek. We wander lost without him. We are constantly at risk, whether we realize it or not. As sheep, we aren't going to create utopia out here no matter how we act. We need the shepherd to welcome us home. Paul was a very diligent sheep but what he was building wasn't meant to last. It wasn't until he found the shepherd that he found the true meaning of his life.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
It is great to know that the LORD doesn't hold a grudge against sheep that are lost. He knows sheep are prone to wander. He knows coins are often lost. He says that comes to seek and save what is lost. He has a heart for what is lost and it gives him joy to find us. Let's take advantage of this. We're all lost in small ways if not in large ways. Maybe there is an area of our lives that we haven't given Jesus full control over. Maybe we're still trying to live righteousness according to the flesh in one way or another. Let's ask Jesus to find us. Let us welcome his embrace as he carries us home.
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.
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