There are times when the Spirit causes me to “camp” on a passage of Scripture. I can’t go on. I read it… reread it… study some cross references… look up some words… eventually think, “Well, that was nice” and try to move on. And the Spirit says, “Look again.”

Philippians 3:7-16 has become that passage for me in the past several days. I have a current habit of study and prayer I know the Lord has me into, and then he interrupts that for this. He will occasionally do this for me.

“Don’t hurry on. Stay here.”

As I stay in this passage, I am drawn to other passages about knowing God. My lifelong journey has had lifelong obstacles. One thing I can’t get away from in this passage (and others) is you have to be all in. Even what is “good” is to be presented to God and tossed aside. Paul’s deep cultural pride and credentials had to become nothing to him.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 calls me out in this way as well! To know God is to set aside all cultural and religious measures of success that we have set up.

Are you a scholar (or Enneagram 5)? Don’t boast in your knowledge.

Are you a “man’s man”… hunting, gathering, ready to arm up to defend your homestead against all enemies foreign and domestic? Steak is your main diet? You get out and there get ripped and train and train for… something… Don’t boast in your strength.

Are you wealthy? Do you know what it takes to cut government waste if you only had the chance? You have all you need and can write just about any size check you want to get just about anything you want? Don’t boast in your wealth.

We are so full of ourselves!!!

And in this we should boast: that we understand and know God. THIS is the holy pursuit! May we find the treasure of Christ and be willing to set aside all our “assets” and count them as loss! May we find HIM as the treasure in the field (Matthew 13:44) and be willing to sell everything to attain his worth!

My lifelong struggle has been my constant willingness to keep other stuff in my life. Paul found the treasure of Christ and walked through the painful evaluation of all he thought he had known. It was stripped down over time as he studied Scripture all over again. He processed. He evaluated. And then he understood Christ had apprehended him and it was worth everything.

Lord! Help us to see the treasure that is you!