Week 36 — SATURDAY

ALL THE CLINGING ACCESSORIES

“For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own” (Phil. 3:8-9). The wonder of self-surrender to Christ is this: You not only surrender your troublesome ego, you also surrender all the accessories that cling to the ego to bolster it. It is pathetic how some people lean on some dead ancestor to sustain their present importance. I read a memorial tablet in a church saying that So and So was the son of So and So, and the grandson of So and So, M. P. (Member of Parliament). That M. P. was obviously put in to bolster his importance.

When Paul was crucified with Christ, all the accessories that clung to his old ego were crucified too. He swept the decks of them. From henceforth he would have no righteousness of his own, nor would he depend on the righteousness of any other thing or person. It was Christ and Christ alone.

He not only let these accessories go, he let them go with contempt—counted them as refuse (literally “dung”). He used extreme language for he felt extreme feelings as he saw people trying to add to Christ’s sufficiency, piecing Him out by adding this, that, and the other. He saw they were canceling the grace of God by these additions. Paul could say, “I do not nullify the grace of God” (Gal. 2:21). He did not nullify that grace by substitution (the Law), or by addition (the magnifying of a Christian rite or ceremony and making it overshadow the Center, Jesus Christ). It was Jesus only. Paul would have counted all these attempts at piecing out the sufficiency of Christ as “refuse.”

Paul wanted to be found in Him—not in this, that, or the other. He could say, “This one thing I do,” and “This one Person I know.” His impress is upon the ages.

O Jesus, my Lord and Savior and my All, I would have this same simplicity of faith and life and love. Prune me from all that saps my energy, my love, and my loyalty. I would have a single-minded and single-hearted devotion to You and You alone. Amen.

AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: “Jesus Only” is not merely a slogan—it is a profound reality.