Counting all things...LOSS

Last night I attended a Navigator's meeting at the UW Eau Claire campus with Garrett, a fellow staff member. The Navigator speaker, Norm Hubbard, was preaching on Phillipians 3:7 in which Paul talks about all things being considered loss in comparison to knowing Christ Jesus. "All things" meaning anything that we can tend to put our confidence in besides Christ. As we were driving home we were reflecting on the topic. I was trying to think about things that I put my confidence in besides Christ. I was having a hard time coming up with some. Not that I have arrived because I know that there are times where my insecurities drive me to find something to grab a hold of, but I found the thought exhausting. The older I get, the more kids I accumulate, the more I feel tired even thinking of having confidence in anything but Jesus. Confidence in something equates finding our identity in that something and in order to do that, you have to be good at it. That takes ambition and I have found myself very much void of ambition lately. I did a Bible study some time back that focused on the character of the Apostle John. The author of the study was reflecting on how John, who seemed to be a star disciple, basically fell off the face of the earth after Paul came on the scene. We finally hear from in his letters 1,2, and 3 John. Scholars specualte that he was rather old when he wrote these. The study made the observation that even though we don't see him in Scripture through the years that he was growing closer and closer to Christ all the time. The author used this phrase to describe John.

"He traded ambition for affection."

In our culture we embrace ambition. We honor it. But many times our ambitions are self rewarding. We climb the ladder, work really hard and in the end we may have a bigger paycheck or bigger title. I was heading down this track a few years ago when a great opportunity came across my lap that would of given me both. The more ambitious I got, the less affectionate I became with those around me. Friends, family and God. I adopted a new goal after that. That I wanted to become "nothing" as Christ became "nothing."

Who, being in very nature£ God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature£ of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

Nothing-ness is not an easy place to be but it is liberating when you can get there. There is a great power in being nothing. First, since your not trying to build yourself up, no one can really cut you down. And you are open for God's everything to flow through you. Having no confidence in the flesh means that you are allowing confidence in GOD to ingnite and empower your life. Swapping your power for God's. Not a bad trade-off.

My ambition needs to be Christ, alone. Then, I believe, everything else will fall into place.