A man tried to sue the airport for misplacing his luggage. – he lost his case.

 

   Saint Paul in his letter to the Christians in Philippi in Macedonia was talking about some loss, but that he felt that it was all worth it.

 

Phil. 3:8 “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”

 

   Saint Paul was writing this epistle from prison and despite that, as a whole, the letter is a very positive one, even though his death at the hands of his captors was a distinct possibility.

 

   In this third chapter of his letter to the Philippians he takes a slightly different tone than the rest of the letter, because in it he is issuing a warning to them. He is warning against the heretical teachings of those who would claim that through following all the elements of the Jewish law a person could become righteous.

 

   He tells them that he, above all others, had a perfect pedigree as measured by the demands of the Jewish law. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee, and had followed all of the Hebrew customs.

 

  He had even done his level best to destroy all those were the followers of Christ. Yet he says, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.”

 

   Paul tells them that all those things he had trusted in to make him righteous in God's eyes, he now considers rubbish.

 

   Nothing but perfect righteousness can satisfy God, and there is no perfect righteousness apart from Christ.

 

   Paul had learned the power of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. He realized that Christ in the sacrifice of the cross had reconciled mankind to God.

 

  He realized that nothing any man or woman could do on their own, could justify themselves before God. Only Jesus Christ was an acceptable sacrifice for our sins.

 

   While we are still on our earthly pilgrimage, we are to “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ”.

 

  In humility following the example, the lead, of our Savior Jesus Christ.

 

   We are to keep doing whatever we can, to bring this wonderful knowledge of God's great love to all mankind. God has given each of us talents to use to that great purpose, and we should use those talents all the time he gives us here.

 

   It may seem, with our limited human abilities, that we are not able to make much of a difference in this enormous task.

 

  We need to always however keep in mind Saint Paul's words from the fourth chapter of this same letter to those Philippians when he said “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

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  Through the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit we can make a difference.