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
Philippians 3:8 (ESV)
Imagine the situation of Paul, he must be devasted with all that loss, beatings, and jail times. His life must be miserable. Is that what happens when someone follows Christ? Paul probably can’t wait to get out of it when a chance arrives, I will do likely consider it from his position.
Many times, when I see Instagram posts of celebrities, they always look happy. Moreover, their online images show that they are having a nice time, not often but always. Nothing negative in their life. Pictures of gorgeous locations, food, fancy cars, and perfect physique support it. I don’t think Paul’s situation not even close enough. His financial position not even likely enabled him to get a good meal. In other terms, he is equivalent to a contemporary slum dweller.
Wait a minute, Paul says that loss is gain for him. How is that possible? Logic is missing completely. He says he doesn’t want to get out of trouble, loss, and pain. Is he mad? I hope he was all right. The truth is, he was not mad, in contrast, he was filled with Joy. When he was left out with nothing, all he had was Christ. In that angle, surely it was not a loss. He got to fully enjoy Christ alone.
Paul knows the difference between joy and pleasure. He was filled with joy but celebrities are filled with pleasure. The loss brings joy but pleasure has a price tag. God is the source of joy. In other words, the birthplace of joy only found in God through His Son Jesus Christ. The abiding of the Holy Spirit in us made it possible to enjoy it. The Triune God is the fountain of joy, what world gives us is counterfeit joy called pleasure.
Are you enjoying the God-given joy? It is an absolutely free gift, an opensource product of God. We are already unified with God through Christ His Son, the only thing remaining is to commune with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Don’t worry how messed up you are now on your relationship with God, hit the reboot button now. Since our union with God is secured. All we have to do is initiate communication with God. On one way, we were unified through the cross, and on the other way, we enjoy joy in God through His Spirit. We don’t need the pleasures of Instagram posts, we have the Triune God who created us to offer us His love and joy.