Philippians 1:21 III; To Die

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

To die is gain. That is not a phrase you hear very often.  Death is the end of everything…our existence on earth is over.  How is that gain? 

For Paul, death would be gain for several reasons. First, he would leave the sinful and fallen world where Christ is denied, the evil prosper, and the righteous suffer.  Second, in death he will leave behind his wretched body of death (Romans 7:24) where he sees Christ through a mirror dimly and only in part (1 Corinthians 13:12).  Third, on the other side of death, he will spend eternity in the presence of the Christ He worships and adores, with a new body, untainted by sin, where he will know and be known forever.  That sounds a bit like gain doesn’t it?

I believe God looks at death much differently than we do.  We see it as the end of life; but God sees it as the beginning of real life.  We see it as a departure; God sees it as a homecoming.  For us, death is shrouded in the question, “Why?”, for God, the question is “Why not?”  Why would we not want to leave this sinful and painful world for eternity in perfect peace and joy?  Seriously!  For the follower of Jesus, death is something to celebrate.  As it says in Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”

(Not so for the unbeliever, which is why we should spend our life loving people and taking opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus.)

Don knows a family whose grandmother was gravely ill in the hospital.  During a visit with her family, her heart stopped, the monitors beeped, and doctors rushed in.  The family was ushered out of the room as the staff frantically tried to resuscitate her.  The doctors were successful, everyone was allowed back in the room as they hugged, cheered, and cried for joy.  Several minutes later their grandmother opened her eyes, looked around, and said: “Don’t you EVER do that again!  I was there – I saw the light – why did you bring me back?  If I die again – let me!” 

That is the truth of our future home.  Instead of thinking of the despair of death and the great unknown, why not think of the joy of heaven and the guarantee of meeting Jesus face to face?  We need not fear death.  It is simply the door was pass through to reach Jesus.

When you acknowledge that your life has been bought by Christ – you will live every moment for His glory.  When you acknowledge that life is short and that today might be your very last day on earth – you will make the most of every minute.  When you acknowledge where you will spend eternity – you will ignore the fleeting treasures of the world to store up treasures in heaven. 

Your life will become about giving instead of taking, serving instead of demanding, love instead of hate, joy instead of despondency, peace instead of chaos, confidence instead of fear, and grace instead of shame. That is living!

And when we live for Christ, to die is gain! 

Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield, is dead. Don't you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now; I shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal- a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto His glorious body.” – D.L. Moody

Philippians 1:21 II; Life

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

I could spend many days discussing this verse, but I’ll try to constrain myself to last week and this week…and maybe next week too.

To live = Christ.

If you want life, it must be spent for and filled with Christ.  Conversely, a “life” spent on anything other than Christ is not life. That is the essence of what Paul is saying…and that is exactly the opposite of what most people believe – even Christians.  We think that God is the cosmic kill-joy constantly thinking of ways to remove enjoyment from our lives. Such a lie!

Who created the moon and stars for us to gaze at every night?  Who decided that oranges should be so refreshing and taste completely different from bananas, blueberries, or strawberries (all also delicious)?  Who created humans with a sense of humor so we could laugh and joke with each other?  Who created love to allow us to live beyond our selfishness? 

Who created beaches to lounge on and waves to surf?  Who created mountains to climb up and to ski down?  Who created lightning bugs, frogs, and snakes to chase and catch?  And who created humans – in His own image – to appreciate, enjoy, and benefit from all these creations?  Who sent His only Son to live and die for our sins so that we might live forever with Him?  God did.  He longs to give us life – real life.

The problem is that we have been tricked into thinking that death is life.  The world says, “Chase after the big job – life is found in money and status.”  It is not.  “Life is found in sex, you will not have life until you are sexually active.”  Not true.  “Life is found in being popular, or having power, or becoming self-actualized…”  False.  “Life is found in following your heart!”  Don’t believe it.  Life is found only in Jesus, “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have come that you may have life to the full.” (John 10:10)

We often turn our back on the fullness of life that God offers because we are too busy chasing the un-life that the world offers.  As CS Lewis says:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

There are really on two choices: life or death.  There is no, “kind of life” or “partial life” – you are either actively choosing to live for Christ or you are choosing death.  And if you choose not to choose, then you are choosing death by default. 

Which one are you choosing today?

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?” – John 11:25-26

Philippians 1:21; Fill in the Blank

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

How simple is that?  I love it!  One of the recurring themes in this first chapter is Paul’s singular focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Paul’s main purpose in life was simply to glorify Jesus. That was it – he wasn’t distracted by money, power, influence, popularity, or even family (he was single).  Wouldn’t you like to have such a singular focus?

Answer this question: “For to me, to live is ________________.”  Seriously, how would you answer that?  We all know the Sunday School answer, but I want you to really consider if the Sunday School answer matches up with your life.  I’ll give you a few minutes to contemplate…

“For me, to live is _________.”  What you write in that blank determines every decision you make: how you spend your time, what you spend your money on, what you think about, the people you hang out with, and on and on.  It’s a question you desperately need to get right.

Before you can fill in that blank sincerely, you have to be brutally honest with yourself.  We must be willing to admit that our life does not always match up with that ideal.  One of the great failings of most Christians is self-deception; an unwillingness to be honest with yourself. I’ll let you in on a secret: God already knows the truth; so you might as well admit the truth and let Him help you.

If you are like me, there are many things that distract me from Jesus.  When I was little, I lived to play.  When I got to high school, I lived to be liked.  When I got to college, I lived to do what I wanted (which is still a challenge).  After college, I lived to acquire things I wanted.  Now, I have to be very careful or I will live for Lynda, Levi, and Wren. None of those blank fillers are bad, but they are not the best.

The only goal worthy of your entire life is Jesus Christ.  And the first step to living for Jesus is identifying the things that you are tempted to live for instead of Him.  So I exhort you to take a hard look at your life and be honest with yourself.  If you are living for pleasure, a relationship, for money, or anything else – confess it, repent of it, claim the forgiveness Christ bought for you on the cross, and then intentionally refocus your life on Jesus. God is gracious to forgive and restore!

Below is a link for a good article on self-deception…

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Meditations/Self-Deception/self-deception.html

Philippians 1:20; Grace for Today – 2.06.2013

“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”

An old seminary professor was terminally ill, but was still teaching his classes.  One day a student asked him after class, “Professor, is it scary knowing that you could die any day?”  The old professor responded, “You know, God has given me grace to live every day and I bet that He will give me grace to die on my final day.”  Keep that in mind as you read on…

You have to pay attention to realize the seriousness of Paul’s situation.  It’s easy to get caught up in the cheerful phrases like, “eagerly expect and hope” and “Christ will be exalted” and miss the kicker, “whether by life or death”.  As Paul was writing this letter, his life was tenuous: he didn’t know if the knock on the door was dinner or a soldier coming to execute him. 

How do you function with that kind of uncertainty?  It’s an important question because we all have uncertainty in our lives, though thankfully most of us are not in Paul’s position.  But Paul answers that question for us in the second half of the verse: “Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”

God gives us the grace and strength to handle whatever comes our way.  We are never overwhelmed because the eternal God of infinite mercy lives within us – He is the source of our strength in good days and bad days.  So it doesn’t matter how bad the circumstances get in your life, the Holy Spirit residing within you is more than enough to get you through it.  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…”

By the way, this verse makes a great prayer to begin your day – “I have no idea what today will bring, but I am confident that You will grant me courage so that You will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” 

The age old question, “What am I here for?” and “What should I do with my life?” are answered succinctly in this verse: “Live so that Christ will be exalted in your body, whether by life or death.”  That is the mission statement of the life of every Christian.

Regardless of what this day will bring; God will give you the courage to meet it.  And not just meet it, but to become victorious over it so that Christ will be exalted through you!

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for him.” – Lamentations 3:22-24