Listen

But even beyond that, I consider everything a loss in comparison with the superior value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have lost everything for him, but what I lost I think of as sewer trash, so that I might gain Christ and be found in him. In Christ I have a righteousness that is not my own and that does not come from the Law but rather from the faithfulness of Christ. It is the righteousness of God that is based on faith. The righteousness that I have comes from knowing Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the participation in his sufferings. It includes being conformed to his death so that I may perhaps reach the goal of the resurrection of the dead.

Philippians 3:8-11

Think

I hear a fair amount of vernacular potty talk as a middle school teacher, and there’s an annual academic excrement excursus on Medieval European chamber pots in my classes, but this translation of Paul’s words is rather vivid.

Sewer trash, Paul?

Hyperbolic? Maybe. But clear. Everything else in Paul’s life cannot compare.

This gift of redemption and life in Christ is a big deal.

It does not come from the law. It doesn’t come from Paul’s own faith.

It comes from God, the faithfulness of Christ; it’s a gift. That gift brings a righteousness, a new understanding, where everything is now seen by Paul through a lens of transformative resurrection grace.

While maybe not diminishing our lives to sewer trash, how might we realign what we’re doing each day, how we’re doing it, and why we’re doing it, into a living that is more Christ-like? What might need to be flushed away? What might need to be refilled? It might be a bit messy in working towards reaching that goal. That’s okay. God will guide us.

Molly Logan

Question to Ponder:

If I imagined my actions today like a roll of toilet paper, each separate square, what first steps could I take to refocus on gracious living?

Pray

Gracious and Loving God, sometimes I do make choices that stink and sometimes I make choices that sparkle.

Thank you for making your grace a gift, not contingent on my worthiness.

Guide me step-by-step today to reach out in your grace to others, not because the law demands, but because I joyfully can.

Amen.

Go

This is my prayer: that your love might become even more and more rich with knowledge and all kinds of insight.

Philippians 1:9

There’s so much to learn and enjoy of the depth of God’s love.

Embrace a goal of seeking and serving afresh today.