A Life in Full Pursuit
Too often my prayers look like laundry lists of things that I want to change, or am stressing over. I list people that I am worried about and ask God to take care of them, I name the problems I'm having at work and hope that God will make them easier, I say out loud something I enjoyed that day that I'm grateful for.
But in this passage, Paul writes about God as the cure for all of his woes - not just the ones bothering him that day. This letter reads like a love letter, not a romantic love but something more enduring and unexplainable. "I want to know Christ" he writes, "I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things". Reading Paul's words makes me feel the same longing, a hope and an ache deep in my chest. An overwhelming reminder of how much I love God, which necessarily pales in comparison to how much God loves all of us. Suddenly, all my lists of anxiety seems so silly and childish.
I know that no problem is too small for God. Like any good parent, I'm positive that he patiently listens to and cares deeply about all my personal problems - that embarrassing thing I said, the fight with my mom, worries about being 'good enough' at work. I find this passage so comforting because Paul reminds us that discipleship to God doesn't make our small issues go away or matter less, it simply puts them into perspective. We don't need to worry about prestige, titles, wealth, or all of the 'things we did right' in life (which are simply irrelevant "garbage" to God) - what a relief!
As I studied this passage this week, I found hope in the humility that Paul writes with. He reminds us that he has not achieved his goal, but that he continues to press on towards a world that God wants. He leaves us with simple instructions: forget the past that we can't change and push on diligently towards Christ.
What would it look like to live our lives knowing with all certainty and at every moment that we are already cherished, loved, and redeemed? To root our confidence not in what the world thinks or us, but from a life in full pursuit of God? Paul reminds us that we are all living a life in pursuit of Jesus, and the beautiful thing about not being done is that we can still learn!
God, we love you. Every part of our being knows you as God, and we long for your constant presence and Grace. As we strive to have your faith, we carry that enduring love with us in every small and large aspect of our lives. Give us patience and guidance to focus on the things that matter - Your love for us and our love for You. As your disciples, we are blessed to be continually trying, failing, and continually pressing on towards the world that You want. Our worth is rooted in your surpassing grace and love and for that we say thank you, thank you, thank you. Amen.
Hannah Stevenson