“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 3:7-10)
Nothing compares to the love of Christ and the knowledge that He loved us so much to die for us and is now preparing a place for us to live eternally with Him. There is nothing greater than knowing that we belong to the King of Kings, and that He is always there for us, always will love us, and is looking out for us. There is great peace in knowing that we are not on our own, that Christ paid our debt, and that He is there to help us when we need Him, when we come to Him.
Our righteousness—like filthy rags—was replaced with the finest of the garments of God’s mercy, grace and righteousness. We should sacrifice all that we have to gain without Him to receive all the blessings of being able to know Him personally, to know His heart and be able to share in His sufferings by giving freely to those who need His love as we were given freely. In sharing in His death, by dying to our flesh daily and following after Him, spending our lives for the sake of others, we are able to experience that new life that comes with resurrection.
—Mark