If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
- Light a candle to remember Christ’s presence with you.
- Spend 5 to 15 minutes in silent meditation using your deep breathing to guide you.
- As you meditate on the text today, consider the gain you have been given in Christ Jesus. What freedom did you find there?
- Consider the loss you have been given in Christ Jesus. Did you find freedom in the loss?
- Is there something binding you from gain given in Christ Jesus?
- Where is this bound in your body?
- If you can identify a place, focus on this place. Ask your body to let go of whatever is binding you to that you can accept that which is given in Christ Jesus.
- Savor this time of unbinding.
- Give thanks to God for freedom in gain and in loss and for any new insights you have received.
- Share as you feel led in the reply box below.