“Knowing Christ--Priceless”
by Bruce J. Johnson
Scripture Philippians
3: 4-14
Text: “I want to know
Christ and the power of his resurrection …”
Philippians 3: 10a
Okay- this morning I’d like
to have a little fun. In advertising, there is such a thing as a
‘Tagline.’ The other day, I read the
results of a survey that ranked the top 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL taglines created
after the year of my birth 1948. Believe it or not, that date eliminates such
classics as “The Breakfast of Champions” (Wheaties) and “Good to the last drop”
(Maxwell House). But let me, for a
moment, give you the tagline and you guess the advertiser:
1. Got
Milk?---
2. Don’t
leave home without it—American Express
3. Just
do it—Nike
4. Where’s
the beef?- Wendy’s
5. You’re
in Good Hands with Allstate
6. Think
Different- Apple Computer
7. We
try harder- Avis
8. Tastes
great- less filling- Miller Late
9. Melts
in your mouth, Not in your hands—M & M Candies
10. Takes
a licking and keeps on ticking- Timex
Then, there are certain jingles that stand out:
1. My
bologna has a first name, its OSCAR….
Oscar Meyer
2.
plop, plop, fizz, fizz, Oh what a relief it is--- Alka Seltzer
3.
4.
Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there
8.
Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man.—Ace Hardware
One that was not mentioned was the following, although it
was enormously successful—I’m sure that you have seen many on television but
not this one because this one is my Peter’s original:
Bucket wings- $12. Two Silver bullets- $8: My father’s
credit card—Priceless.
I hesitate to mention that
one because Ralph Nader got sued for using it as a parody in his 2000
Presidential bid saying:
“Grilled tenderloin for
fundraiser- $1000 a plate, campaign adds filled with half truths- $10million, promises
to special interest groups- $10 billion: finding out the truth- priceless.
There are some things money can’t buy. And the ad closes with the image of
Nader working at a desk with his sleeves rolled up.
(By the way, Nader won the
suit.)
Studies have been done on
what makes a commercial successful and the one for Master Card is particularly
interesting, because of its crafty comparison between all the stuff and
services that money can buy, the tangibles, which in the end, don’t mean
anything and the ‘priceless moments’ which mean everything. Of course, their
point is that you have to use the card to get them.
For example, “You can’t
show your daughter the place in
Jim Farrell, Professor of
History and the Director of Americas Studies at
I like that phrase: “The
commodification of our sacred spaces.” Listen
to this advertisement for an 18k Gold, White South Sea Pearl and white/black
diamond ring:
Some things are just priceless, not for their cost; but for the value
the heart puts on them. Light up her heart with this everlasting ring!!!!!!
Some things are
‘priceless’ because of the value the heart puts on them!
Although we may know what
the ad is doing, promoting the sale of these expensive rings, it does have one
thing right---
“Some things are priceless
because of the value the heart puts on them!!!
We all know too, I trust,
that it will never be the rings and things, the places
and possessions, the
fashions and fineries that are the priceless things in our lives.
Last week, I talked a
little about how Oprah has really tapped into something that really matters to
so many—that is, living your best life. One of the other features I like to
read is what she calls:
“What I Know
for Sure.”
It is not easy to know
anything for sure these days, or so it seems, but I suspect that we would all
like to!
In the most recent issue of
U.S. News and World Report, there is an interview with the Rev. Joel Osteen,
pastor of the
“I
think our message is very practical and relevant. I’m not necessarily
explaining deep theological questions and doctrine and stuff like that; I’m
talking about how you can live your best everyday life. I think that people respond when you say:
“You know what: God is not mad at you; he’s on your side, he’s got a plan for
your life, and when you obey what he wants us to do, we’re going to prosper.”
(U.S. News
and World Report, 10/3/ 2005, p. 57.)
In today’s lesson, I think
we have a situation in which Paul knows something for sure. His heart has made
it priceless. And although he is in prison at the time that he wrote his letter
to the Philippians, he seems to be prospering. Interestingly, yesterday’s New
York Times had quite an article about how the victims of ‘Identity Theft’ are
thrown into such a crisis. (
One quote: “Once this
happens you can’t believe how deep the rabbit hole goes. It was two years of hell”
Well, in today’s lesson, we
have Paul citing for us everything that he once had— everything that defined
him and gave him his life of privilege:
Remember?---Paul
is telling his beloved Philippians that at one time--- he had it all!!!!!! Or so he thought!
“If
anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more; circumcised
on the 8th day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of
Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a persecutor of the church;
as to the righteousness under the law, blameless.”
Yet,
whatever gain I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.
More
than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. ) (Phil 3: 7)
You see,
Knowing Christ Jesus as
Lord---- Priceless.
Of course, as I say, Paul
is writing from prison and he was also facing the prospects of his death.
Basically everything had been taken away. That type of circumstance forces us
to face what is really important. Indeed a few lines down Paul says with even
greater passion:
“I
want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection…”
Although he doesn’t say in
these words this is what he meant:
“All I want to know, all I need to know is Christ and the power of his
resurrection.”
And that is central core of
our faith—that something that we need to know for sure—something on which the
heart puts its most value.
To know Christ Jesus as
Lord and to know the power of his resurrection is ‘priceless’--- sometimes its
not easy in this materialistic, consumer driven world of ours but it is there
for the believing and in believing—there is a peace of mind and heart, a
confidence that is beyond measure. God is on our side. Christ died for the
forgiveness of our sins and the power of his resurrection is what gives our
lives such promise and potential. All we need to do is listen
and learn, trust and obey and we will surely prosper.
Amen