Verse: Philippians 3:7
But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
Devotion
When Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians, he was well into his mission as an apostle for Jesus and a missionary to bring people to Him. But, soon after his conversion, when he realized that all that he had done to persecute these new Christians was wrong, was worthless, it must have been hard for him to accept. When he was zealously persecuting Christians, he thought he was doing God’s work. He thought he was doing good works that would count in the plus column with God. But when he encountered Jesus, he found out that Jesus was real, that these weren’t good works, and that good works weren’t the path to heaven but that Jesus was.
Have you ever found yourself doing something you thought was good but found out that you were on the wrong path? When I first became a Christian, I was so excited about doing things for God that I convinced my pastor that I should give a sermon. I had just moved to Niagara Falls and was new to the church, new to the faith, never had given a sermon, definitely overconfident. I didn’t know what the congregation needed and I had no depth to share from. It wasn’t a disaster, but it fell flat.
You might consider it “to my profit” to want to share about the Lord with a congregation. But was it what the Lord wanted? It didn’t put Jesus first. He doesn’t want our works; he wants our heart. He wants us to be with him and grow and change from our worldly view to a heavenly view. My early works mentality was a loss but eventually I learned and grew.
Where are you today with the Lord? Are you still operating out of your own strength? Or are you letting Him fill you with His love and truth and strength and then letting that flow out to others? Today, spend time with Him in prayer and in His word. Then ask Him to fill you with His love and to direct you to the people and places that He has prepared for you. That’s living “for the sake of Christ.”
Author: Brad Dunn
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