Jesus is More Precious

The only thing that Paul knows about his upcoming trip to Jerusalem is that persecution and imprisonment await him there (Acts 20:22-23).

Most people would take the Spirit’s warning as a legitimate excuse to stay back from the trip. 

But Paul is still going. 

He considers his earthly life, with all its potential years and experiences and delights and accomplishments. 

Then he looks at Jesus Christ: his supreme glory and beauty and love, and the urgent need to display his worth to every soul on earth.

He looks at his life, and then Jesus—his life, and then Jesus.

Then he renders his judgment:

“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24)

Take my life, stretch it to its maximum grandeur, place it next to the earth-shaking magnificence of Christ, and I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself. I consider it worth nothing to myself. I don’t find any value in my life when I’m holding it in my own hands. So I give it totally, joyfully to Christ as a willing offering, a vessel to be used up for his cause. 

This is what it comes down to for Paul, a constant thread running through the fabric of his soul: 

Jesus is more precious …

No matter how you finish the sentence, the first half remains true. 

My success? Jesus is more precious. 

My dignity? Jesus is more precious. 

My safety? Jesus is more precious. 

Jesus is more precious than my dearest friend, my most treasured possession, my dream job. Yes, Jesus is even more precious than the breath in my lungs. 

Is Jesus more precious to you? 

Paul was unreservedly devoted to Jesus, not because of his religious zeal, but because he saw just how precious Jesus was. And this Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Christ you claim is the same Christ who compelled Paul to Jerusalem.

Fix your eyes on Jesus, and fix your heart on this life refrain:

Jesus is more precious ...