I consider them garbage, 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 on the basis of faith.
Philippians 3:8b-9 NIV
Before this passage, Paul had given us his credentials (Phil. 3:4-6). He had a lot to be proud of. It would be hard to top his qualifications as one of his generation’s most promising and zealous Jewish men.
But something happened to Paul. He had an encounter with the risen Jesus. And it transformed his life. All those things he once held dear no longer had value to him. He thought of them now as garbage. And the future he envisioned was replaced by something much greater.
That much greater thing was to gain Christ and be found in him. We could rightly say that Paul gained Christ on the road to Damascus. But Paul is not looking back at what happened to him then. He was looking forward.
Paul went on to say that he had not yet reached his goal but was striving toward it (Phil. 3:12-14). Paul wanted more and more of Jesus—to become like him in every way. He would allow nothing to interfere with that goal. And he encouraged all of us to follow his single-minded pursuit of gaining Christ (Phil. 3:15).
My heritage, citizenship, education, accomplishments, and abilities are all things that I can take pride in. And it is tempting to find my identity in those things. But all of those are temporary. And they fade in comparison to gaining Christ and being found in him.
That is the challenge I face. And that all believers face. Will we let go of what we value in this world to fully experience the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ and being found in him (Phil. 3:8)? Or will we try to have both, and fail to experience life in Christ fully?
