Today is garbage day in the City of Chelsea.

If you drive through town you'll see bright orange bags lining the streets. (You have to purchase them or the garbage collectors won't take your garbage.)

In the winter when trash freezes outside, missing garbage day isn't that big of a deal. But in the summer, the stench of food, diapers, and other odors sitting in the garage compels us to faithfully remember garbage day and those bright, orange bags.

Now imagine going along the street and noticing that people were throwing away perfectly good items.

Furniture. Appliances. CD's. Things recently purchased. Or precious mementos like pictures of their children or wedding albums. Brand new books.

If you saw all that in the trash, you'd wonder what was going on.

We expect people to throw away garbage. But items recently acquired on E-Bay or Amazon.com?

Or how 'bout a vehicle that still has a lease you are paying?! You'd have to be nuts!!

I imagine word would get out around town pretty quickly. Neighbors would start to gather, selecting items they thought they could use.

I wonder if that is a little like what Paul was going through in Philippians 3. He writes:

(W)hatever was my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
What is more, 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...

All things once with great worth....now worthless.

Everything....now rubbish.


What is profitable in you life?

What has great worth to you?

What do you treasure?

Think about the list for a moment:

computer friends car, house, or boat

music dreams children or grandchildren

reputation getting your own way

Would you really be willing to haul it out to the street today in an orange garbage bag?

There is only one reason to consider everything in that light:

the surpassing greatness of know Christ Jesus my Lord

I want to see everything else in my life through the light of how great following Jesus is.

Somedays I think I'm really headed that direction.

Let's encourage each other down that path.

Grace & peace