For the teen it was a big loss, and it was not even her fault. Some may consider her story a horror story. In fact, if you ask Amazon’s Alexa to tell you a scary story, she tells you a story very much like this. The teen lost the use of her smart phone.
“Arghhh!!!”
But, before you roll your eyes, listen to the reason why, and also listen to her response.
As you know, the pandemic has affected people in many ways. The loss of jobs has been one of them. So, when her dad unexpectedly broke down into tears while telling her that he could no longer afford for the family to have cell phones, the daughter’s response was not the expected response of screaming about a ruined life. Instead, she said, “Don’t feel bad dad, I’ve been thinking that I need to put it down anyway so that I can spend less time distracted and spend more time with you guys.”
Make no mistake it was a big loss for her. The phone was how she connected and shared her life with her friends. That was where she documented her days in pictures. Without a phone, how would her peers view her? Was she now the poor girl? Would she now be an outcast…unconnected, unremembered? Make no mistake, this was a huge loss. But, the value of her phone came nowhere close to the value of making her father feel loved, and feeling like he was not a failure.
It is impossible for me to think about this girl’s story without thinking of the Apostle Paul’s story. Now, one can easily look at the Apostle Paul’s words concerning his accomplishments in life and how his accomplishments are not as important as knowing Christ, in a super spiritual light. It is easy to say, “Christ is much more important than the things in people’s lives.” But, it is quite another to have actually have lost all of those things, and still have the courage to completely trust in the Lord anyway.
You see, Paul does not list off all of his accomplishments to simply brag; how he was devoutly, “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; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church;” and to top it off, considered so righteousness under the law that he was seen as “blameless.”
He lists all his former accomplishments because they are precisely that: “former.” Now, as one who follows Christ in a world that does not, he has lost all of these accomplishments. Like the teen, he has lost his connection with the community that was impressed by his righteous zeal. He has lost his connection with those who lifted him in high regard and considered him blameless. He has lost it all.
What if you have lost it all, job, reputation, friends, Reese Peanut Butter Cups, all of the important things in life? What if you have lost it all?
I once worked with an older guy who, during a 15 minute break, just broke down into sobs while opening a piece of mail.
“I lost my kids…for good. They took my parental rights away. I made stupid choices, got hooked on some stupid substances, and now I’ve lost them. First I lost my job, then I lost my wife, then I lost my house and my things to her, and now it’s my kids. It’s all gone.”
Looking at me, the pastor in TOPs grocery store clothing, he said, “But, the house and things, I don’t care about that, that’s just a bunch of junk, but the kids…that’s unimaginable. At least I’ve still got Jesus. At least they can’t take Jesus.”
Paul says, “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…” There it is, that word “loss.” He lost it all. It was taken from him; all the accomplishments, all the regard, all the friendships.
Despite having lost them all, he says, “I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him…” Sometimes you have to lose what it is in the way of Christ and his love, in order to truly see him.
Not that God wishes hardship on anyone, but sometimes the phone needs to go. Sometimes, the accomplishment and notoriety needs to be stripped. Sometimes, your ability to trust in yourself needs to be gone so that the one who truly matters, Jesus Christ and his love, can be seen.
Because, once all that clutter is gone, your worth will not be based on yourself, rather, you will finally be able to see that your worth is based on the simple fact that Christ chose you.
This is faith. And, this faith in Christ is a gift that will remain to the very end…and beyond. “At least they can’t take Jesus,” the man said. “At least they can’t take Jesus.”
“This doesn’t change anything” the teen told her father. “You are still my hard working, loving Dad, and I don’t need a phone in order for me to be me. Nothing has changed.”
And, it is true; loss of things, loss of jobs, and loss of stature has nothing to do with the ability to love. Love does not change. Love does not disappear. Love never comes to an end.
Christ’s love is eternal. It resurrects. It re-creates. It is what gives life.
And, because of that, Paul excitedly says, “I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Paul runs the race of love and life, not because he has reached the destination of love and life, but because Jesus has made him one of his racers. Paul presses on towards the goal, not because he has accomplished it, but because that is where the prize can be found. He presses on towards the goal because loss of phones, and houses, and jobs, and relationships, and social status cannot possibly destroy what truly matters: the love and life of the one who made us his own, Jesus Christ our Lord.
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