Philippians 3 Taking Out the Trash … My son has a problem. I don’t know where in the world he got this problem, but he has trouble throwing things out. So over the years piles and boxes would accumulate in our house, and now continues to multiply in his apartment and garage. Again, I have no idea where such a habit could possibly come from (now for those who read these devotional reflections but don’t know personally, the smirk on the faces of those who do know me well comes from them having seen my office and the piles that exist throughout it.) But the difference between my oldest and myself is that when I do hit the piles in my office (and contrary to popular opinion, I do tackle them from time to time), the amount of trash that is removed is at least twice the size of that which is kept. On the other hand when Jordan dives into his containers that are kept in our basement, I swear the boxes go through some sort of spontaneous reproduction or ameba-like fission that leaves more boxes than he started with. Among these boxes and plastic bins are toys from his childhood, pictures and papers, puzzles and games, and trophies – lots of trophies from his days of playing sports. I know this all seems like random information that you didn’t ask for nor need, but these are the images that attached themselves to Paul’s words in Philippians 3. Listen to how he describes his own version of taking out the trash: “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:7-11 (NIV) Do you see it? Can you hear the sound the garbage truck backing up with that obnoxious beeping sound as it makes its way to Paul’s private dumpster? It’s filled to the brim and Paul’s out there with a big smile on his face as the mechanical arms find their slots and raise that giant garbage container off the ground. There’s no last minute plea by the owner to stop so he can do a quick dumpster dive and rescue a few of those soon to be gone trophies earned through his strict religious upbringing, schooling and accomplishments. He was raised with a point of view that said these trophies are what ultimately matter to God. Your status, before the One who sits on His throne, is based on how close to perfection you come and how well you perform doing all those religious tasks. But in his encounter with Christ, Paul has had a complete turnaround. Our relationship with God is not based on what we’ve done, but what He’s done for us through Christ. Suddenly all those “religious guy of year” awards have lost their significance. They find their place in file 13. The only thing Paul cares about is knowing Christ – and knowing Him in the fullest way he can. One of the last times Jordan was in for a visit, he asked if we had gotten rid of some of his stuff. I have a confession to make, especially since I know he doesn’t read these devotions, I may have fibbed. I gave him a standard courtroom response: “Not to the best of my recollection.” The truth is, there may have been a few things that have “accidentally” found their way out of our basement. Among them were some of those old trophies that recognized that he “participated” in that a given sport on a given year. Sometimes the trophies have to go. Paul knew this. And if we are going to live “by grace” instead of “by works” (Ephesians 2:8-9), we have to learn how to take out the trash.
Posted on: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 12:39:01 +0000
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