Philippians 3 : 8

Philippians 3:8 NKJV

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ

Theme- sacrifice

The biggest thing that speaks to me in this verse is the line, "...and count them as rubbish. .." This speaks to me a lot, because I think of the missionary books we've read, and heard about. I think of what the gave up just so they could spread the gospel, and I hear about some missionaries saying things like why me, why do I have to do that, or oooh i can get out of that. Some even making excuses why they can't do what God is calling them to do, or because they are afraid of leaving something or someone behind. Then when Paul adds to that and says, "...that I may gain Christ." He didn't care that he had to give all those things, because he figured out that it all is pointless compared what he had gained. He gave up personal thing in exchange for something eternal, the relationship between himself, and Christ.

For me personally, I had no problem leaving home, and the people there, because I thought I knew I was going back. Then I started to learn that if my heart is truly after God's will, I don't know what I will be doing after this program. It's a little scary know that I think about it. To not know what your going to be doing. I've always had a plan to what I was doing, so when I had to do it, it would be done and I wouldn't have to worry about it. I didn't worry about my future until this very moment of writing this, but isn't that the point of being obedient, and willing to give up everything for Christ testimony. We as christians do this so that the gospel may be spread, not foe our comfort. We must be will to sacrifice everything.

Application - ask God to give not just me, but all people that is being called to do something that involves sacrifice, peace!