When Paul was Saul of Tarsus, he knew nothing of the excellency of Christ. Rather, he thought that the law was marvelous, and, as a Jew, he was proud of it and zealous for it. He appreciated the law to the uttermost. In his zeal for the law, he persecuted the church. One day, on the road to Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly shined upon him, and he was knocked to the ground. At that time he had a vision of Someone more excellent than the law—the Son of the living God. From that time onward, Paul knew that Christ was infinitely superior to the law. The law was given from God and by God, but it was only of dead letters. Now Paul had seen a living Person who was the embodiment of God. Can the law compare to this living Person? Impossible! This living Person may be likened to gold and the law to clay. Before knowing about gold, we may appreciate clay. But by seeing the gold, we receive the excellency of the knowledge of the gold. This illustrates Paul's experience in coming to the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. The excellency of the knowledge of Christ is the excellency of Christ realized by us.

One day a brother brought me a large round stone. This stone was so ugly that I did not care to even touch it. Then the brother said, "Brother Lee, you have said that Christ had no outward beauty or comeliness, but that He was beautiful within. This stone is like Christ in this regard. Outside it is ugly, but inside it is beautiful." Then the brother cut the stone, and within it was a beautiful, transparent crystal. Before he cut the stone, I had no knowledge of the crystal. In fact, I did not appreciate it and wanted to throw it away because it was so ugly. But after the stone was cut, the beauty within appeared before my eyes, and I gained the excellency of the knowledge of the crystal.

In like manner, before his experience on the road to Damascus, Paul did not have the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. Rather, he thought that Jesus was merely an illegitimate son of Mary who was born and raised in Nazareth. Paul treasured the law, but he despised Jesus. But on the road to Damascus, the excellent Jesus appeared to him, and he was shocked when he met the Lord. The Jesus whom Paul thought was buried in a tomb now appeared to him from the heavens. On that day, he learned that Jesus was not earthly, but heavenly and divine. He came to see the excellency of this wonderful One. On account of the excellency of this knowledge of Christ, Paul came to realize that the law cannot compare with Him. Therefore, he could have said, "I have made a comparison between Jesus and the law, and I have decided to take Christ. I count all things loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ."

Have you ever compared Christ with all other people and all other things? Have you ever compared Him with your degree or with your wife or husband and children? As Christians, we need to make such a comparison. If you compare the sum total of all people and all things with Christ, you will gain the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, and Christ will become all the more dear to you. You will be willing to let go of everything and everyone on account of Christ. Some may think it terrible to count all things loss for Christ. But I am serious in saying that everything must go and that only Christ must remain. When everything has gone, that is the time to experience Christ as the remainder. Christ as the remainder will be incomparably precious and sweet. This is Christ for our experience.

Although the Christ that remains when all other things have been counted loss may seem to be quite small, He is very precious. Whenever I experience Christ and let all other things go, I have the Christ that remains. This remainder may seem quite small, but it is adequate for our appetite.