Moving to Virginia from pleasant, low-humidity Colorado, I felt like I would die in the extreme moist heat that first summer, so I stayed indoors a lot. In my second summer, some friends decided to organize a blueberry-picking trip to a local U-pick farm—in 100-degree heat! I fondly recalled gathering blueberries as a child in Minnesota, so in a momentary lapse of sanity, I agreed to go. Out there between the rows of bushes, sweat pouring in rivers down my body as I took hold of those warm, sweet, luscious berries, I realized this: it might be uncomfortable, but I will not die in the heat. I also gathered a priceless spiritual truth that day: when I can see that the fruit is worth it, I will endure the heat.
Because Paul saw “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ,” he gained an amazing heat tolerance. He viewed his own solace, safety, status, even sharing in Jesus’ sufferings, as nothing when compared with being found in Jesus. Beloved, the fruit of knowing Him is so worth it all. Taste and see that the Lord is good!