Rubbish

"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 rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ"

Is He really worth everything to us?  Have we reached a place where nothing, absolutely nothing is off limits for Him, where He could ask us to truly leave all of it behind--all of it--and we would come freely after Him?  

Ah yes, we can offer up the normal excuses, protecting our treasure trove of blessings and gifts, education and relationships, exclaiming that these are things He can't touch because He WANTS us to have them... Will we count them as rubbish?  I don't mean are we WILLING to count them as rubbish.  The value of Christ and the price of sharing His life demands that I have counted them as rubbish already.

All we have is Christ.  We have already lost everything else--there is nothing else to lose!  Yes, life is rich and full of blessings, but only because Christ gives them back to us day after day!  I will not hold them--I will let Christ hold them for me, and I will hold Christ.  He can keep my life much better than I can, and I cannot keep anything but Him!

Lord Jesus, You are all that I have!  Everything precious in me that I have guarded, I lay it before You and count it as rubbish, for at the sight of You it is clear that nothing else is precious.  I cherish You.  I love You more than my life, and I will not hold anything back from You.  Precious Savior, teach me to daily part with the things I value most--my marriage, my talents, my very knowledge of You--and submit them to the fire of Your worth, to be refined and perfected in Your strength.  Then I know I will value them more deeply and fully than I ever could have on my own, because they will belong to You, and they will be Yours to keep.