06/14/2020 - Knowing Jesus - Philippians 3:1-11

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.
Philippians 3:8-9

​Sometimes it's hard to believe God accepts us as we are. We put in the work of salvation in hopes that God will put a smile on his face. Or perhaps we work so that he can be in our debt. Many people will say, "If I'm basically a good person then God will be duty-bound to throw open the gates of heaven for me!" Sometimes we make the relationship with our creator feel more like an employee to an employer. The challenge is that success is a moving target. How do we know if we've really been good enough? How do we know for sure that we have put a smile on God's face? This is a recipe for an anxious life of uncertainty. In the end, what we've done is put our hope in ourselves only to be devastated and worn out. We take our deep habit to gain approval from others and we apply it to the God who created us. This proves to be a fickle faith.

So let's take a breath and remember Paul's words above. There is a righteousness that has already been secured on our behalf. Jesus did it on the cross. All of the work that Paul put in as a religious zealot counted as nothing when it comes to earning God's favor. No longer did Paul want a righteousness of his own. This could also be called self-righteous. Instead, God wanted a pure heart that is dependent upon faith in Jesus. The pressure is off. The love is on. We now find our motivation to please God because of Christ's sacrificial work on our behalf.