Philippians 3:1-11

Philippians 3
The Priceless Value of Knowing Christ
1 Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters,[a] rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. 3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God[b] are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, 4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! 5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.[c] For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
Devotion:
In this passage, Paul describes a journey to which many of us can relate. Prior to knowing Christ, he was a Pharisee who had much and was considered powerful. He valued what he had, what others thought of him, and the rules that the Pharisees upheld. He put much confidence in his own effort and that of his fellow Pharisees.
However, when Paul came to know Jesus, his life was turned upside down. He came to know how worthless his previous treasures were. He came to depend on Christ alone and his faith grew tremendously. He so eloquently stated his faith in verse 10 above. Paul’s growth is an inspiration to me as he went from a persecutor of Christians to one a devoted and influential Christian.

Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you in this season for the gift of your Son Jesus so that we might have eternal life with you. Help us to continue to grow in our faith so that we might know you more. Amen.