To
Live is Christ — To Die is Gain!
We have the blessed opportunity of studying the book of Philippians at our Wednesday night Bible Study. And what a fantastic book it is! We began the book about five weeks ago and we are just now getting into the second chapter! If you have not read Philippians recently, I would ask that you do so. Paul speaks so powerfully to each of us through this letter—the Holy Spirit is certainly the author.
Philippians is written late in Paul’s ministry, probably from prison.
By this time, he has faced just about every trial and tribulation
imaginable. One can only imagine
what his physical condition is, and yet he exhibits an attitude we should all
strive to possess in our Christian life. From
our perspective, he is surely in a lose-lose situation.
But not from Paul’s point of view.
He states in the first chapter how all the Roman soldiers know that he is
imprisoned for Christ sake and how God is using him to make a difference where
he is.
And then Paul says this, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet
what I shall choose I cannot tell. For
I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ,
which is far better. Nevertheless to
remain in the flesh is more needful for you.
And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with
you all for your progress and joy of faith that you’re rejoicing for me any be
more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.”
Do you hear that? In Paul’s mind,
it is a win-win situation. On the
one hand, he can go be with Christ, which is “far better.”
Isn’t that what we all would tell him to do?
After all, he’s been tortured, beaten, sick and near starvation.
I think I would encourage Paul to go be with Christ, to enjoy the rewards
that await him. And yet Paul chooses
his second option and that is to stay in the flesh and serve Christ!
Paul chooses to be used to make a difference to others—to stay in
prison and reach others for Christ. His
choices are simple—to live is Christ, to die is gain.
Either way, Paul rejoices in the Lord.
I think of worship services where well-meaning people stand up and say how they
wish they could join the Lord right this very minute—to leave the sin of this
world. And if we admit it, we feel
that way much of the time.
However, let us all remember there is one thing we can not do in heaven.
As great as heaven is, we can not bring another person to Christ
there—we can not reach the lost.
Given the choice of join Christ or serving Him here on earth, Paul chooses the
latter—and he rejoices in the opportunity, in spite of the circumstances!
Everyday we have the opportunity to reach out to another in the name of Christ.
One day, we will join Christ in eternity—worshiping and glorifying His
name forever. But for now, there’s
work to be done—there are people to reach—that are souls to be won.
Praise be to God—whether we are here serving Him, or whether we join
Him in heaven—there is victory through Jesus Christ.
What a wonderful choice!