“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…
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