A few years ago at a workshop we did an exercise where we named the ten things that were most important to us: family, friends, music, good food, etc. The exercise then required that we cut our list of ten down to five — which was hard but not impossible — and then down to three — which was harder still. Finally, we had to name the one thing that was most important. I said God but that is not what St. Paul would have said. I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Paul would have said I had God, I had prayer in my former life as a “Hebrew of Hebrew parentage” and a Pharisee. It was only when he accepted Christ in his life that he truly found himself and understood the will of God in the world. The challenge he extends to us: how important is Christ to us? Would he be the last one on your list?
