PHILIPPIANS 3:7-11 – “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 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 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

THEME OF THE DAY: DOES THIS DEFINE OUR LIVES?  Today’s scripture is familiar to most Christians. It is the bold testimony of the Apostle Paul.  And it goes beyond just his testimony. It was the consuming desire in his life; his passionate pursuit in life; his zealous activity in life, and it defined all of his life.

Imagine being seated at a coffee shop with the Apostle Paul.  As we had some light conversation, our exchange turned spiritual and we asked him, “Paul, how would you define your life?”  I think he would smile and answer, “Christ.  My Lord Jesus is my life. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.  I have achieved so much in my life, more than my peers by far, and I count everything I have gained as rubbish compared to knowing Jesus. I eat, sleep, and breathe pondering how to know Him more, be like Him more, and tell others about Him more.”   Then a silence settled over our conversation and Paul would break it with this question to us, “What about you? How would you define your life?”  Are we confident our answer would be similar to his?  I hope so. I hope I could.  I hope you could.  After all, Paul’s answer is not that from some super Christian.  It should be that of every Christian.

Here is another penetrating example evaluating and defining our lives.  It comes from the Old Testament and a Psalmist named Asaph.  He penned these profound words in the seventy-third Psalm, and they are in the form of prayer – “Whom I have in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire beside you” (Psalm 73:25).  Stop right now, no time to change our priorities in life; no time to “clean up” our spiritual lives.  Right now, may we pray these words to heaven telling the Lord, “No one or nothing in this life holds a greater grip on my affections and entire life but You”?  If not, may we ask the Lord to help us make it true.  And a good application, even prayer, comes from the following . . .

There is a prayer that is over fifteen hundred years old. It is particularly inspiring and helpful to those who want to follow Christ. It is called “St. Patrick’s Breastplate.” Here is part of it: Christ be with me, Christ in the front, Christ in the rear, Christ within me, Christ below me, Christ above me, Christ at my right hand, Christ at my left, Christ in the fort, Christ in the Chariot seat, Christ at the helm, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks to me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.

May our lives be defined by the Apostle Paul’s and Asaph’s testimonies and lived out with the practical awareness of St. Patrick’s Breastplate.

PRAYER: Lord, let my life be so consumed with You that everywhere I go I leave a positive witness of You.

REFLECTION:  Christ is to be our chief pursuit and passion in life.  He died and rose for those purposes.