What is the Knowledge of Jesus Worth to You?

When I use the word “knowledge” I don’t mean the academic sense of the word, as if you could somehow know everything that Jesus knows. Rather, what I mean is that what is the ability of truly “knowing” Jesus worth to you? In Philippians 3 Paul says that it’s worth a lot, even giving up a lot, to really “know” Jesus. This is what he writes: 7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.  From the Bible it appears that Paul was a very powerful and influential man before he started to “know” Jesus. He has given up all of that worldly power and influence; trading it for the value of knowing Christ. He truly suffered the loss of all things that once defined him. He says that it was a great trade.

How about you? What is truly knowing Jesus worth to you? As I see it, it’s not worth much to you if reading the Bible isn’t important to you. It’s not worth much to you if you are not interested in being in community with other followers of Jesus. It’s not worthy much to you without prayer and meditation. It’s not worth much to you without financial sacrifice. I hope that you will choose to really “know” Jesus. Yes, you will lose much in this world but you will not be disappointed with all that you gain.