Reflection

In Philippians 3:4b-14, Paul uses his prison time to reflect on his early life as a Pharisee, comparing it to what he has in his present time.

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
⁷ But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in^[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Keep in mind, he is a prisoner when he writes this. He is probably in chains. He has eye sight issues. He has endured a kind of persecution that believers today can only wonder about and yet...and yet he is not discouraged and he manages to encourage others throughout his letter. I find myself wondering if there would even be a Christian faith without Christ's choice of Paul as an apostle. Jesus relentlessly pounded the Pharisees of His day for their lack of zeal toward God and their failure to accept Him; yet He managed to turn Paul to His purposes on that road to Damascus and He created the greatest missionary in Christian history.

The central part of Paul's words here I add again below.
 
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in^[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

This is what is at the core of it for all of us that believe. The realization that all of our achievements in this life are meaningless in the great scheme of things; that we have no righteousness before God on our own, but only through our faith in Him. Knowing God through our Savior, Jesus Christ, should be the overarching goal of everything we do. Obedience to rules and merely knowing Christ through scripture is not enough - not for Paul, not for me, not for anyone that claims to be a Christ follower. We have to move forward and take hold of Him that gives us Life. He is our Brother, and Friend. We must take advantage of that relationship. He walks with us always. It behooves us to take advantage of His continuing presence and stay in constant communication.

Our invisible friend...well maybe. He Is Here.