"...It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again" (Philippians 1:20-25 ESV).
"For me to live is Christ..."(Philippians 1:21). Oh how that thought burns within my soul! It was the battle cry of the apostle Paul. Paul did not think to live is the way we 21st century Christians often define what it means "to live". What would you say? For to me to live is: work?...success?...popularity?...the acquisition of wealth and material things?...sex?... leisure, vacations, and early retirement?... to be highly regarded as a Pastor?...to have a successful church and ministry?...academic achievement?...What would your "to live" be?
Paul takes this even farther. He says, "...and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). Do you believe that? Do you feel that? Death=Gain? Is the thought of your own death seen as "gain" or loss? Does thinking of your death produce a feeling of fear, anxiety, dread, or joy and anticipation? Is this life the best there is or is there more, exceedingly, infinitely, wonderfully more?
What caused Paul to have such a passionate sense of his life and his death? Paul's aim was Christ. Paul held loosely to the things of life on this earth because they did not bring him satisfaction and joy, only Jesus Christ did. So Christ was his happiness in life, and Christ would be his happiness in death.
Jonathan Edwards put it this way:
“The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here."
Paul said, "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).
"I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:8-14).
Jesus Christ was the highest good and happiness for Paul. He was a man satisfied with nothing less than God himself. As the Moravian Count Zinzendorf used to say, "I only have one passion and it is He!" Paul saw himself as a man journeying towards heaven and to be forever with Jesus. Is it no wonder that death would be so looked forward to as gain for Paul? Death was the door for all Paul had valued, treasured, savored, and lived for in this life: Jesus Christ!
This is why Jonathan Edwards resolved for his life on earth:
“Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the power; might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.”
"For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Oh for us to go hard after Christ in this life so as to be able to say that death is nothing but pure and joyful gain!
Longing to believe, feel, and live this truth,
Pastor Bill
1 comment:
Bill,
This beggs the question,
is it possible to "know" Christ & not be filled w/ this kind of passion (although not continously as we would desire)
I look at loosing all that I have & while it hurts sometimes I'm gratefull it's gone. But it makes me wonder if like Paul i considered it worthless or if God just took it as consequence of my sin. (or both?)
When i had my heart attack (sally) said something i thought was hurtful at the time but mabey it was an insight into who i really am. she said that i had a "death wish" i wonder if my desire & longing to be "home" is that prominant or if i need to seek help?
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