'Whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection and [the] sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3:7-11).'
When the risen Christ revealed himself to Paul on the Road to Damascus some 20 years before, Paul had an immediate and profound conversion which revealed to him that the only way to truly please and serve God was through faith in Christ Jesus. There is nothing higher or greater than knowledge of Christ and such knowledge, which transforms a person into the very likeness of Christ himself, is more than just intellectual. It allows one to reassess one’s values and discard, with joy, those things considered to be worthless when compared to the grace of knowing Christ. Paul understood that the righteousness of God did not come through the Law of Moses (Rom. 3:21) because the Law cannot remit sin (Rom. 3:24). Such righteousness is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ. We must strive to be like Christ and share in his sufferings so we can hope to attain the salvation which God freely and mercifully offers to all through the glory of his resurrection.
Almighty God, fill us with the grace to persevere in our desire to be Christlike no matter what obstacles we face or how hard the path may become. Grant that Christ will reveal himself to us and we may be transformed, like Paul, to a fuller, more profound acceptance of your love which leads to eternal salvation. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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