Christ Means More to Me

Christ Means More to Me

"But everything that was gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ." Philippians 3:7

On Sunday I had the special joy of visiting my dear friend and brother, Chuck Heidel. Chuck and I served at Sandy Cove together for at least six years. The first two years I served with Chuck were very difficult years for Sandy Cove, and God forged our hearts together in a very unusual way. I count him one of my dearest friends.

Two weeks ago Chuck was bike riding and had a serious accident that landed him in the Shock Trauma Unit at University of Baltimore. He had to have major surgery to fuse his spinal cord in two places. As a result of the accident, he is "profoundly paralyzed" from mid-chest down. At the moment he has use of his arms, but his hands and fingers are still not functioning 100%. He is just not getting acquainted with sitting in a wheel chair for several hours at a time, and will begin the arduous journey of physical therapy.

Our visit was memorable in many ways. I had about 30 minutes alone with him before Jan and Zach came in for a visit. We walked about many things, but one statement Chuck made just moved me to tears: "Bill, I always loved Christ, but now I am learning to love Him in a way that I never thought possible. Christ means more to me now than ever before."

The apostle Paul wrote: "More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ ..." (Philippians 3:8-9)

Dr. Mark Corts said, "You'll never know that Jesus is ALL you need until JESUS is all you have; when JESUS is ALL you have, you will know that Jesus is ALL you need."

Today you might be tempted to complain about the weather, your job, your aches and pains. I am with you. It is so easy to do that! But today, and for the days ahead, when I am tempted to spend my time complaining, I want to remember my friend, Chuck, and know the reality of losing all so that I will gain Christ, and Him alone. -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 1; Psalm 135-136; 1 Corinthians 12

Great Quote: Just because of His unfathomable love, the God of Love, when He sees His children resting their souls on things that can be shaken, must necessarily remove those things from their lives in order that they may be driven to rest only on the things that cannot be shaken; and this process of removing is sometimes very hard. -- Hannah Whitall Smith