"I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him. Not having a righteousness of my own, that comes from obeying the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings becoming like him in his death and to attain resurrection from the dead."
Philippians 3:8-11
When I read these words of Paul I feel an overwhelming gratitude and wonder at our opportunity to know the God of the Universe. He calls it a "surpassing greatness". Everything the world offers is garbage compared to this knowing of God.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things; he dropped all confidence in his carnal privileges, and civil, ceremonial, and moral righteousness, for Christ and his righteousness; he parted with all for this pearl of great price; he lost his good name, credit, and reputation among men, and suffered afflictions and persecutions in various shapes; he lost the comforts of life, being often in cold and nakedness, in hunger and thirst, and was ready to suffer the loss of life itself for professing and preaching Christ:
http://bible.cc/philippians/3-8.htm
