Whatever it takes.

I want to know Jesus. Sometimes I'm scared to say that out loud to you and Him, and me. I battle back and forth with whether I really do or not mainly because I don't want to suffer.

My heart has been stirred as this new year has started by the words of Paul in the bible book of Philippians chapter 3 verses 7 through 11. These are the kinds of phrases that you find there...

"Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ."

"I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."

"I consider all things like garbage that I may gain Christ."

"I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings."

These words from Paul are so stirring and so scary for my heart.

What is God saying here through Paul? I think this is what He is saying....

Things that I gravitate towards and set up as important things in my life can be REvalued as if they were a loss for the sake of Jesus having the place of preeminence in my life. Wow! That can actually happen. Yes, that is real. Thanks be to God.

I can willingly participating with God in the change of accepting loss in a culture that despises losing. That is crazy. We know that the driving pulse of this culture is win, win, win. And Paul is assertively teaching us that we can lose, lose, lose and be finding Jesus and His fellowship and power in the process. I love that.

Even the crazy dangerous and avoid at all costs thought of sharing in the sufferings of Jesus is strangely appealing when it is rooted in the awareness and invitation of sharing anything with Jesus, whether it's power or suffering. If an older brother or sister is going through something wonderful or something bitterly hard, we are drawn to want to share it with them (most of the time). It's the same with this older brother, our older brother.

And how does this happen? Whatever it takes. Paul said, "everything is a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things." How is this even a thought or a thing this "whatever it takes to know Jesus" thing?

It's a thing because of the cross.

Jesus said, "I'll do whatever it takes for you to know Me." And He did it.

Maybe you're like me when you ponder these kinds of words. "This is way too extreme. Fanatical even." Is this too extreme for me? For you? Let's wrestle with that. It's worth the wrestling because souls and eternity are really, really extreme.

Whatever it takes.

There's more.