As we have been studying Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, it is interesting how Paul responded to the pressures of everyday life. Paul was in prison in Rome facing possible execution, yet we find him more concerned for the church in Philippi than his own life.
Paul makes some challenging statements in the first chapter of Philippians:
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
Whether he lived or was executed, he wanted his life, or his death, to glorify Christ. He was more concerned for the Kingdom of God than his own personal life. If you were honest with yourself, how would you fill out the following statement:
For me, to live is ___________________________ and to die is ______________________.
i.e. For me to live is MONEY and to die is TO LEAVE IT ALL BEHIND.
For me to live is FAME and to die is TO BE FORGOTTEN.
For me to live is PLEASURE and to die is TO LOSE IT ALL.
As Paul goes on in his letter, it is clear that he believes he is going to be delivered out of his imprisonment:
“Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith” (Philippians 1:25).
Wow, if God granted to Paul his request to be set free, his desire was to help others in their walk with God. If I were Paul and just narrowly missed being executed, I might want to take a long vacation. “For me, to live” would be to go to the mountains and relax after such a trying ordeal.
May God bring us to that place where we can honestly say:
“For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
How about you? What are you living your life for? What is most important to you in life?
No comments:
Post a Comment
If you have an account with Google, AIM, etc., you can sign in using the "comment as" drop down list below. If you do not have an account you can select anonymous from the list. If you use anonymous feel free to sign your name to the post.