The world does not give much esteem to those for whom Jesus is everything. To get Him, you don’t need an Ivy League education or any education, for that matter. You don’t need to spend a lot of money for Him. You don’t have to work hard to get Him or pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You don’t have to be talented. You don’t have to be beautiful. You don’t even have to be considered a good person. He is God’s gift to all mankind. Free to all who desire Him. Anyone can claim Him.
But “free” doesn’t mean “cheap.” The value of having Christ is beyond anything this world can offer. For being “all in” with Jesus, Paul went from being an esteemed scholar to being considered a mad man, from being considered brilliant to being called an idle babbler. He went from throwing people in prison to becoming a prisoner. But he considered the loss of esteem by people rubbish in comparison to gaining Christ.
Paul knew, as do all of us for whom Jesus is everything, that in the end, gaining Christ is not about impressing others; it is about the supernatural quality of our life experience with Him – regardless of its outward appearance.
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