I find it interesting that Paul begins
this portion of his letter with the word, “Finally.” If you look at the letter and its layout,
there is nothing “final” about what Paul says here! He’s halfway through!
Paul dealt with problems from people who
taught that in order to be a Christian you had to keep the Jewish traditions,
and most chief of those was circumcision.
They taught that a person could not be saved if they weren’t circumcised
and didn’t follow the dietary laws and other traditions that the Pharisees had
put on top of God’s Law.
As a Pharisee and Jew, Paul had
cherished all these things and excelled in them to the point that he could
boast about his zeal and heritage. Now
he says he counts those things as loss.
The word he used is skubala –
rubbish is how most English Bibles translate this word. It means dung or garbage, things that go into
the dung heap to rot.
What made the change in Paul? He had experienced the surpassing worth of
knowing Jesus, His love and following Him.
He had gotten a taste of God’s power in salvation and longed for
more: the power of Jesus’ resurrection,
the privilege of sharing in Jesus’ suffering, becoming like him in His death,
and eventually rising from the dead.
Today there are many things that people
cherish that in the end are “dung.” Homes,
vacations, pleasures – none of which are bad in and of themselves! – can
quickly become a person’s focus and foundation for pleasure. We don’t need to mention things like alcohol,
drugs and pornography that latch on to people and destroy their lives. Good things, when they become central to our
lives and replace Jesus are spiritually ruinous.
So in the end – FINALLY – we are called
to rejoice in the Lord. Of all things
His Word is the only one that will last forever. Of all people he is the only one who will
love us eternally. Of all hopes His is
the only one that lasts beyond this world.
Rejoice in Him, and then the other things that are good can be enjoyed
for what they are, gifts from Him to his beloved Children, and the evil things
can be shunned.
Father, help me rejoice in Jesus, and enjoy
your other gifts in light of Jesus’ salvation.
Amen.
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