We’ve seen it played out on TV and read it in stories and news. Perhaps you have experienced a tragedy first hand where you had just one minute to leave your house for another place of safety. Whether it be a gas leak, an explosion, a fire, or other catastrophe, we are warned: “Get out immediately. Don’t go back for the cat or dog or any prized possessions. Your life is the most important thing to save. ”
But if you could grab one thing by the side of your bed or by the door on the way out, what would it be? Your wallet and cell phone? The family photo album? And what if it weren’t an impending catastrophe but a sudden move that required you downsize to everything but a few suitcases? What would you keep?
We surround ourselves with so many things that pay tribute to the past. I know. I’ve been sorting through things lately, prioritizing ones of more value than others and some I am finally ready to let go of. The past has a certain hold on us.
Paul addresses not just the tangible things we hold on to from the past but also our very identity…what we are known for. He concludes:
“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.”
Think about that…whatever awards you have achieved, whatever papers you have written, things you have created, accomplishments you’ve attained, or possessions you have accumulated…all these considered as loss for the sole sake of knowing Jesus.
Would you make the trade? Those who know Christ will someday do exactly that, for we take nothing with us when we leave this life for the next. I wonder though, do we sometimes cling too dearly to the things of the past while we live now? What value do they add compared to knowing Jesus and making him known? And to what extent do they actually impede this ultimate goal?
I think of the young pastor from the city who went to visit an old mentor who lived in the country. Entering the cottage, the young man saw only a single room with not much furniture at all. “You don’t have many belongings,” commented the young man. Eying the single suitcase in the young man’s hand, the old man replied, “Neither do you.” The young man said, “But I’m just staying for a short visit.” “So am I,” replied the old man, “so am I.”
This is not a call to get rid of everything you have, though God just may issue such a call. The question for each of us is what do we hold onto and what holds onto us that keeps us from knowing Jesus more fully? You never know when you have just one minute to leave.