It Boils Down to This

A friend recently asked me a question.

He said: “if you could come speak to a group of college kids, what would you tell them?”

I immediately thought of Philippians 3:7-10.

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For this sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. That I may know him and the power of the resurrection and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death and by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

I suppose when it boils down to it, I can sum these verses up in these 4 points:

1. It’s all rubbish without Jesus.

Seriously. It doesn’t matter how many credentials you have behind your name, how many houses you own, how many people go to your church, how many people you lead to Christ, or how many books you write. If you don’t know Jesus, and if you aren’t growing closer to him, it means nothing.

2. It’s impossible without ruthless trust in Jesus.

It’s all about faith. It’s all about faith. It’s all about faith. You need faith for salvation, which is yours through God’s grace. You need faith for daily living. You need faith for obedience. You need faith for prayer. You simply won’t get very far in your Christian walk if you don’t believe that God is who He says He is and that God will do what He says He will do. Period.

3. It’s unlikely to happen without pain.

The captain of our salvation learned obedience through suffering. What makes you think you’re gonna be free from suffering? Pain is part of the process. I wish it weren’t so, but you watch your life and notice: the lessons that really last are the ones learned through pain, failure, and suffering.

4. It won’t end without total victory.

There is some pretty awesome news too! There is power in the resurrection. Christ is risen. You are always victorious in Christ. Peter said it this way: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10). Pain does not last forever. No matter what God has called you to, you will come out victorious because He is risen.

It all boils down to this:

Jesus Christ the one and only.