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. Philippians 3:8
“Lord, my God, now I understand that You alone are all in all.” I exclaimed, “he who has You can easily dispense with the whole world, for in You he possesses more than he can ask for.
Now I understand that I had gone astray while loitering through the world, seeking rest in created things. From this hour, I desire no other delight but You, and surrender myself wholly to You.
Strengthen me, lest I fall away from You to created things, committing again the folly of which the world is full. May your grace protect me, for I rely on it alone.”
Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1670) in The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart (National Union of Czechoslak Protestants, 1942) 132.
Comenius was a Czech philosopher and theologian who often described as the father of modern education. After reading his quote, it seemed that he was echoing Paul and Augustine.
For Paul it was easy to dispense of anything in the world, to consider it garbage, next to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ. And remember in Augustine’s Confessions, he states, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.”
Where are you today? Are you loitering through the world seeking rest in created things? Or are you surrendered wholly to Him possessing more than you could ask for and able to easily dispense with the whole world?