Joseph Patty; Associate Director of Student Ministries; Target Practice for Birds

Phil 3:4-11
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 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. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Reflection:
I was once riding my bike with friends when I got hit with massive bird skubala. It was all over my leg and shorts. I immediately turned around and rode home doing the thing where you hold your shorts out from your leg with the tips of your fingers, as if to think that somehow that would make the situation more sanitary. I know what you’re thinking. Joseph, this is a church devotional. How are you going to throw around curse words like that? My kids might read this! Yes, skubala is a harsh word, and my Bible was being nice when it translated it as garbage.

Here’s my question for us. What do we do when we realize that the thing we need to be resurrected from is our religion? Paul had reached the pinnacle of religious status, and yet when he encountered the living Christ, he realized what it really was: a steaming pile of skubala. For most of us who read this devotional, our list of church merits adds up pretty nicely once we tally our church attendance, assorted Bible studies, and service hours. Yet whatever we might accomplish, Paul leaves us in the dust, and then he leads us to the cross. Those are all good things, but they are worthless when it comes to actually transforming lives or creating righteousness within us. Christ is the only one who can do work like that.

Therefore, let us confess that all we bring to the table is skubala, and that we need Christ. We need him to take it from us. We need him to take our sin. We need him to set us free and make us righteous. The only thing that’s worth anything is him, so let’s follow him to whatever end. What would it look like if Jesus’ church threw off the chains of appearance and embraced the cross of Christ? What would the world do with a church so loyal to Jesus that suffering was welcomed if only it meant that we might join Christ in his resurrection? I imagine it would be quite the spectacle. I picture the Roman Colosseum, where people witnessed Christians giving their lives and were so moved that they jumped out of the stands to join them. I picture revival. I see a city transformed.

Prayer:
Awaken my heart, Lord. Open my eyes to the ways I have placed my trust in the hollowness of religion. I repent. I want to know you the way Paul knew you, in a way that makes everything else fall away in comparison. Place a fire in me for your Word and for prayer that will only be satisfied in your presence. Raise up a church worthy of your cross. Amen.