October 15

More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ — Phil 3:8 BSB

What does it mean to “win Christ”? It means to embrace Him in the arms of faith, to feel His heavenly glory manifesting in our souls. It means to experience the application of His atoning blood, purging our conscience with all its cleansing power. It means to feel our hearts melt and overflow with the sweet ravishments of His dying love, so powerful that it overwhelms us. This is what it means to win Christ. Before we can win Christ like this, we must first have a view of Him. We must behold His glory, “the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” We must see the matchless dignity of His glorious Person, the power of His atoning blood, the vastness of His love in all its dimensions. Our hearts must be bursting with longings and desires for this blessed Immanuel to come down from heaven and shed His precious love into our hearts.

Isn’t this how you feel, child of God? It has been my feeling again and again. Don’t you feel it sometimes as you lie on your bed, sweetly and earnestly longing for the Lord of life and glory? As you walk through your day, engaged in your work, aren’t there moments when your heart goes out in longing and prayer, reaching toward the very bosom of the Lord? But you can’t feel this unless you have first seen Him with the eye of faith, unless you’ve had a taste of His beauty, a glimpse of His glory, a discovery of His eternal worth. This light must shine in your heart, like the sunbeams gleaming through the windows or dancing on the waves of the sea. You must have felt the warmth of eternal light shining into your soul, melting and breaking your heart at His feet, like the early dawn breaking through the darkness of night. When you have seen and felt this, you cry out, “Oh, that I might win Christ!” Like a lover who longs to win his beloved, you yearn to experience His love and presence, poured into your heart by the Holy Spirit.