But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, 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 is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
I worked out yesterday. Legit worked out - I speed-walked for half an hour, then did strength training to strengthen my problem areas. Many times when I work out, I try not to push myself so hard I'll be in a lot of pain the next day, but recently, I've been feeling quite behind as the three people around whom I spend most of my time are all rapidly losing weight. So, I decided to work out every day this week I'm spending with my mom in South Carolina, and yesterday, I decided to work out hard.
This seemed like a really great, noble idea, until I woke up this morning.
The muscles from my elbows through my shoulders felt as if I had been stabbed any time I attempted to use them. The bottoms of my feet felt raw, not to mention the enormous inch-wide blisters I popped on the backs of my feet last night (ew, I know, but I'm just trying to be real here). Getting out of bed was a daunting task.
I hate waking up that way.
For my entire life, my mom has reminded me that God uses situations in our lives to model spiritual principles outlined in His Word. I know every pastor in the history of preaching has probably used this analogy, but it struck me again today how very much like spiritual warfare a workout routine is.
My goal for working out my physical body is to become healthier and better-looking. There is no point, however, at which I can say, "Okay, I've reached my physical goals. I'm going to stop working out and eating right." Even after reaching any specific goal as far as weight loss or endurance is concerned, I must continue a routine of healthy diet and exercise to maintain what I have achieved. As I age, what I do to maintain what I have must change, and, regardless of my workout regimen, my body will still continue to look and feel differently the older I get.
In the passage above, from Philippians 3, Paul talks about the fact that he is single-minded in his quest to be like Christ. He acknowledges that he will never fully achieve his goal in this life, but wants to have all the good and the bad that is involved in this race.
I can't look and feel better without working hard and going through some physical suffering. In the same way, I can not grow spiritually without difficult work, decisions, and some pain. My husband impresses me with a particularly interesting doctrine he seems to have really identified with from one of his favorite preachers. I don't know the specific phrase he uses, but it is basically the idea that if we truly glory in our taking part with Christ's sufferings, we won't complain or be upset when we suffer, because we know it only makes us stronger, better followers of Christ.
I'm not quite there yet. I've always been a bit of a ninny when it comes to any sort of pain, physical, or emotional. I'm pretty much the opposite of a masochist.
But it's a thought, isn't it? If we are truly so selfless that any sufferings we endure cause us nothing but joy, what does that mean for how we live our lives?
One thing is certainly true... the church would look very different.
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