[But] whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ —Philippians 3:7-8
Jesus teaches us that following him means treasuring him above everything else. That is what he means by the short parable in Matthew 13:44: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.” The treasure in that field is worth all the loss the man goes through in order to obtain the field. The treasure is worth it. This is simple ROI.
John Piper writes, “Becoming a disciple of Jesus means writing “LOSS” in big red letters over all your possessions—and everything else this world offers” (“Called to Suffer and Rejoice”).
Four Practical Pictures
But what does this look like on a practical level? What does it mean to treasure Jesus more than anything else?
Piper goes on to show us in four different pictures:
It means that whenever I am called upon to choose between anything in this world and Christ, I choose Christ.
It means that I will deal with the things of this world in ways that draw me nearer to Christ so that I gain more of Christ and enjoy more of him by the way I use the world.
It means that I will always deal with the things of this world in ways that show that they are not my treasure, but rather show that Christ is my treasure.
It means that if I lose any or all the things this world can offer, I will not lose my joy or my treasure or my life, because Christ is all.
Read or listen to the entire sermon [1992].