dedicate

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ,”

Philippians 3:8 ESV

May our highest motivation be to know Christ and make Him known. 

This was something Paul understood very well. To Paul, nothing else compared to Christ. His single goal was Christ.

Jesus is not an add-on to our agendas— He is our agenda. To follow Him is to embrace total abandon into His purpose for our lives. That’s free fall. It’s scary. But what if our exhaustion of trying to get it right, what if our apathy and burnout are a result of simply trying to add Jesus to our own desires?

We wear ourselves down asking the Lord to bless what we’re doing, looking to God to submit to our timing, rather than dedicating ourselves to His perfect and pleasing will.

The world tries to convince us that everything and everyone else is more worthy— but who is like our God? Who else has saved us completely? Who else has loved us to the uttermost? Who else contains the words of eternal life?

Everything Paul once had going for him was now insignificant in order to embrace all of who Christ is. He was done trying to live up to his own standards. More than who he was or had been, Paul knew to whom he belonged. He resolved within himself that there was nothing more satisfying, more stimulating than an intimate and personal awareness of Jesus.

Beloved, what are you after? Gain Christ. Pursue Christ. This world is not our forever. We are children of eternity, created to know the overwhelming surpassing worth of our Lord and Savior.

In Him,
Makenzi 

additional reading:

John 6:68, 17:3 / Ephesians 3:19 / 2 Corinthians 5:14 / Hebrews 7:25 / Jude 1:21

reflect:

What petition does this text lead you to set before your Father today? What wrong thoughts result in you when you forget the truths of this passage? What is going on now in your life to which this would be relevant?

centering prayer:

 LORD, I long to know Christ more and the power of his resurrection life in me. I give up all my own plans and accept your will for my life. amen.