To the Ends of the Earth: Action – Week 7, Day 1 – Jesus Brings Not Peace, But a Sword
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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 his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:7–11
The world values power, wealth, and position over faith. We are bombarded with the message that happiness comes from our possessions, our pleasures, and our accomplishments. Christians are not immune to the temptation to seek this sort of fulfillment. After all, can we not use our wealth and power for the cause of Christ? While it is true that we can, we must not allow our status and our stuff to become idols, or base our worth on them. In the grand vision of eternity, they are insignificant. No matter how much good we do with them, they will vanish like smoke at the End of Days.
Only in our Savior do we obtain righteousness and overcome our sufferings to attain the peace and joy of the resurrection. This does not mean that we have to give up our earthly goods. It does mean that they cannot have a greater hold on us than our Lord does. Our possessions are really a gracious loan, given to us to be used for the kingdom. As we consider all things loss for the sake of knowing Jesus, we become conformed to his image and obtain the resurrection life given to us by God.
Questions for Reflection
What power, prestige, and possessions have you given up in order to find peace? What has that experience been like?
How can you share the resurrection life you have in Christ with another man today?
Praying with Scripture
“For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mk 8:35)
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Mark C. McCann is an author and Ministry Consultant with more than 30 years of writing and ministry experience. He has published articles for a number of Catholic magazines and websites including St. Anthony Messenger, Emmanuel Magazine, Liguorian Magazine, Catholic Stand, the Connecticut Catholic Men's Conference, and Homiletic and Pastoral Review. He recently published the 4-volume Catholic men's devotional, To the Ends of the Earth, as well as the 2021 Advent Daybreaks devotional and 2022 Lenten Daybreaks devotional with Liguori Publishing. He has also released his End Times novel series, Jacob's Dream: The Vision and Jacob's Dream: The Final Battle. He was a radio host and producer for 8 years at a Connecticut Christian radio station and has worked as a Catholic religion teacher/campus minister and a parish youth minister. He has also served the Norwich, CT Diocese as a Youth Ministry Director and Family Life Director. He currently lives in Connecticut with his Proverbs 31 wife, where together they have brought up three incredible children. He strives each day to live out his call to be a man of words. You can learn more about Mark and his writing at www.wordsnvisions.com.
