Am I enough?

Second Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14

[Paul writes:] 4b 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.

And another thing!

The apostle Paul has an impressive resume. Just ask him. He tells the church in Philippi that he was the most credentialed Jew ever to be circumcised (Philippians 3:4b-14). But, he says, those things don’t matter anymore. His perfect attendance in Hebrew school and his enthusiasm for keeping Judaism Jewish won’t buy him a cup of coffee.

One thing that honors students struggle with after high school and college is that no one cares what their SAT scores were or what their GPA was. No one asks their doctor what grade they got in organic chemistry or their coworker how many colleges offered them admission. Good grades and all are helpful, but only to a point. At a certain point, our credentials come in relationships. If you have a 1600 on the SAT and graduated summa cum laude from Harvard but can’t speak respectfully to a boss, you aren’t likely to keep any job, much less the ones you think you’re suited for.

Paul says that all of his religious credentials are nothing compared to the surpassing value of his relationship with Jesus Christ.

Sometimes, Christians wonder if they know enough, or if they have done enough. Have they attended worship often enough? Are they nice enough to the people around them? Have they given enough? Having the right boxes checked is lovely. We should strive to be loving neighbors and faithful disciples. In the end, none of that matters compared to the relationship we have with Jesus.

Jesus loves you. No matter what is (or isn’t) on your resume, that’s enough. Thanks be to God.