Shifting Value Scale

"For we who worship by the Spirit of God

are the ones who are truly circumcised.

We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us.

We put no confidence in human effort. . .

I once thought these things were valuable,

but now I consider them worthless

because of what Christ has done.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared

with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For his sake I have discarded everything else,

counting it all as garbage,

so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.

I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law;

rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.

For God's way of making us right with himself 

depends on faith.

I want to know Christ

and experience the mighty power that raised him

from the dead.

I want to suffer with him,

sharing in his death,

so that one way or another

I will experience the resurrection from the dead!"

Philippians 3:3,7-11 NLT

I used to live for the sport of bodybuilding.  Every waking moment was spent devoted to increasing my knowledge about training, posing and competing.  Whenever I had a spare moment, I used it to think of ways in which I could tighten up my schedule, opening up more time for preparation, or I would visualize myself on stage going through my posing routine, or I would research new information on nutrition that could give me the edge over my competition.  In short, I ate, slept and breathed bodybuilding.

Now that I live for Christ, however, those things seem trivial and unimportant.  While I still work out, it is not what drives me each day.  As I slowly submit more and more of myself over to the Lord, I see how He takes those parts and transforms them so that I desire Him and Him alone.   Everything else fades in comparison with the awesomeness of knowing Christ.

Confidence

He seemed so cocky, this little boy dressed in shepherd's garb.  The man he so boldly confronted was a fighting machine; over 9-feet tall and dressed from head to foot in armor.  This giant of a man was accustomed to killing because it was his profession.  When he talked smack, he had something with which to back it up.  David, on the other hand, only had a sling and five pebbles.

While it may seem David was over-confident and in way over his head, the truth was that he had faith in God.  He knew in his heart that the same God who gave him victory over the lions and bears that attacked his sheep would conquer Goliath.  In fact, this ordinary lad believed this so sincerely that he was willing to back up his faith with action.  David had confidence in God (1 Samuel 17).

Where once I thought I needed more self-confidence, God has shown me I only need the heart of David.  The world-taught principle that I must believe I can do anything I put my mind to has yielded to a kingdom understanding that all things are possible with God(Luke 1:37).

As I grow in my relationship with God, He exchanges my old reliance on self for a new-found God-confidence.

Merit

Her beauty drew the once mighty king into adultery, treachery and murder.  She knew she deserved nothing but suffering for the part she played in this horrible drama.  No matter how much her heart ached with pain over the death of her beloved Uriah, she had to admit the love growing in her heart for the handsome king.  It's hard to deny the advances of such a virile and powerful man (2 Samuel 11)!

Bathsheba must have struggled with the breakdown of her own moral character.  Despite the fact that she was used by David to quench his own sexual appetite, she must have felt some kind of responsibility for the whole affair. Incredibly, God takes this woman who was at the center of such scandal and deception and not only gives her a son who would become king and the designated builder of God's temple, but also one of the few women mentioned in the lineage of Jesus(1 Chronicles 28:5-6, Matthew 1:6).

Once I enter into God's family through faith in Jesus Christ, I, like Bathsheba, am judged not on my own merit, but through the lenses of the grace of a loving God.  By way of the blood of Jesus, I am seen as righteous by holy God.  The blood of the perfect Lamb covers over all my sin, making me appear as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).  Consequently, God can give me the hope of eternal life with Him and the blessings of His favor even though I do not deserve it based on my own merit (Romans 3:21-22).

As I grow in my relationship with God, He exchanges my own lack of virtue with the righteousness that comes by faith in Jesus Christ.

Suffering

He told the truth, but it was a reality they couldn't bear to face.  Infuriated by the accusations, they lashed out in anger.  How could they, the prestigious leaders in the temple, men of God, be accused of the death of a trouble-maker?  They had done their religion a favor in disposing of the one Stephen blasphemously called the Messiah.

As Stephen died a martyr's death, he asked God to not hold the sin of those murderers against them.  Filled with the Holy Spirit before his death, he even was given a glimpse of the glory of God in heaven and Jesus standing in His rightful place of honor.  Never had suffering at the hand of such evil men seem so glorious(Acts 7:51-60)!

Suffering is something I naturally try to avoid at all costs.  As I grow closer to God, however, my heart will become more like Stephen's who considered persecution as an honor and a way to share in the suffering of Christ (1 Peter 4:13).

As I grow in my relationship with God, He exchanges my aversion to suffering with a desire to know Him more intimately by going through difficulties.

The life I used to live before I knew Jesus is radically different than the one I live now.  I, however, can't take credit for this change as it is a work of God's Spirit within my heart.  He has turned my world upside down as He has exchanged my self-confidence, dependence on my own worth, and attention to personal safety and comfort with a new-found God-confidence, righteousness by faith, and an open mind when it comes to pain and affliction.  In this way, God is supernaturally shifting my value scale to line up with His.

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I can easily let go of parts of my old life which God is calling me to release.

How often do I hold onto old beliefs instead of taking on God's ways?

When am I most apt to rely on my own wherewithal instead of God's power?


Originally published on March 26, 2013