The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Philippians 3:8-11, “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ,

9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

What do you currently possess that you value higher than anything else? For my part, my family is exceedingly more valuable than anything else. Next to my family, my books are of great value. At my age, my children and grandchildren have said, “Dado, what are you going to do with all of your books?” Of course, today a lot of information is online; thus, books lack the value they once had. Still, there are many books that are not available on line or in print anywhere. I have a few like that. What would I take for my books? Right now, they are not for sale!

There were times when Paul valued books and parchments of Scripture (see 2 Tim. 4:13). But in the verses above, he declares that he “count(s) all things to be loss” when compared with knowing Christ Jesus. Those things which he once considered invaluable, he now considers but “rubbish.” Christ is everything to him!

If you think clearly, you will conclude that everyone worships a god. Lost people, like the girl I spoke with today, considers “doing her best” is sufficient. In reality, “her best” has become her god. Whoever establishes your moral code is your god. It may be a religion; it may not; but everyone has a god. Previously, Paul had lived by the Jewish Law. But now, he had come to know Jesus Christ on the Road to Damascus (Acts 9); and from that point of personal contact, Jesus Christ was Paul’s God.

Paul knew Him! Now, he wanted to be like Him in every possible way. He wanted to suffer as Christ had suffered. He wanted to die that he might experience the resurrection Christ experienced. In every possible way, Paul wanted to know and be like Jesus Christ. He was willing to surrender everything he possessed just to know his Savior!

If you truly know Jesus Christ as your Savior, nothing material –cars, houses, wealth, priceless objects—nothing compares with Jesus and what He is preparing for you in Eternity! Don’t become entangled with “things!” When you leave this Earth, you’ll take none of them with you. As is often repeated, “You never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul behind it.” Fix your eyes on Jesus! He’s all that’s worth keeping.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”