IT'S NOT ENOUGH
In a 2015 interview in Esquire, Paul McCartney was asked if he felt he still had something to prove. He answered, “Yeah, all the time. And it is a silly feeling. And I do actually sometimes talk to myself and say, ‘Wait a minute: look at this little mountain of achievements. There’s an awful lot of them. Isn’t that enough?’ But maybe I could do it a bit better.” (https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a8511/paul-mccartney-interview/)
Keep this in mind. Paul McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as “the most successful musician and composer in popular music history.” Three words come to mind: “It’s Not Enough.” It doesn’t matter how much we accomplish; worldly achievement is a bottomless pit of always needing to do more.
Saul of Tarsus found that to be true with religious rule-keeping. In Philippians 3:5-6, he rattles off a list of his Pharisaic attainments, before meeting Jesus. Like McCartney, Saul was “king of the hill”—the best of the best as a heretic-hunter. His spiritual pedigree, and his religious accomplishments, opened the door for some of the world’s greatest offerings: power, prestige, popularity, human praise. He had it made.
Saul possessed what the world values most. People die, chasing after such treasures. They sacrifice health and family in the rat race, just to get a little more of the goodies Saul held. Nations even go to war to obtain these things. But Saul abandoned it all when he encountered Jesus. Saul became Paul.
What on earth would cause someone to walk away from everything people cherish most? One simple reason. What he found in Jesus was so much greater than anything the world offered, that it wasn’t worth comparing.
In Philippians 3:7 he declares, “Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless” (CEV), adding in verse eight that all his accomplishments are “like a pile of manure” (TPT). He sums it up in verse 10. “All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did.”
That was Paul’s purpose. That was his calling: experiencing the power of the resurrection. That alone and nothing else will bring us fulfillment, meaning, and purpose. Worldly achievements are never enough. Just as Paul the Apostle, and Paul the Beatle, discovered. When laid alongside the life Jesus offers, everything else pales in comparison.
UPDATE ON LINDA: Her condition remains stable. Last week was rough, but this week has been much better. Five liters of fluid was removed from around her largest tumor, and she’s able to eat better, and feels better overall.
Principle: We can only find purpose in the power of Christ’s resurrection.
Ponder:
How does the resurrection of Jesus fulfill your longing for meaning and fulfillment?
Other than the resurrected Jesus, in what area of life are you most tempted to seek to find purpose?
Pursue: For a deeper dive, study Philippians 3:1-14
Prayer: Lord Jesus, in the power of your resurrection I find all that I need for fulfillment. Forgive me for the times when I look to the world to fulfill me. Help me to stay focused on your life and resurrection.