FOR ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST
Philippians 1:21-22
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!
When I was younger I loved preparing for an upcoming hunt. I would be packing 2-3 weeks ahead of time. Lists were written and rewritten, then added to again and again. The thrill of the hunt, whether just a weekend at camp or traveling to the western mountains, started in the preparation for me. Unfortunately, as I prepared for the future excitement of the hunt I lost sight of what responsibilities where in the here and now. I concentrated so hard on the future that I forgot about present commitments. Even as a young boy in school I stared out the window at squirrels in the oak trees, day dreaming of going to camp for our upcoming weekends. I missed out on much of the fall teaching because I was longing for what was to come and not paying attention to what needed to be done today.
The apostle Paul was so excited about someday spending eternity that he wrote about it in the scripture above, when he wrote, "to die is gain". He had such a desire to be face to face with Christ, the one who gave His life for him. But Paul knew something that many Christians never consider.... Until we get to eternity we have a responsibility here on Earth. He knew that living here on earth meant living every day for Christ, that was his responsibility, as it is for all those that are God's children.
We often hear Christians long for Jesus' return... even praying, "come quickly Lord Jesus". Or those that long to pass from this life quickly. They forget about the two main reasons we are left here on earth, once we've come to a relationship with Jesus. First we are here to glorify God through our life and second, to point others to Him through our lives. We see this happen in scripture when Matthew follows Jesus. One if the first things he does is invite all of his friends to come to a banquet to meet Jesus (Matthew 9). This is what we are called to when here.
The prospect of continuing to live is not an unwelcome prospect here, in fact Paul says I hardly know which to choose, both prospects are so enticing and inviting. The Christian should not be so desiring of death that he no longer wants to live. We sometimes give the wrong impression. We sing the wonderful songs about the glory up there but sometimes, unfortunately, Christians leave the impression that this is really all they're living for is what comes at the end. While we are still here we can certainly long for the eternal days in heaven with Christ, but not to the point of forgetting that as we continue to live here on earth, we live for Christ.
If we're living out our lives here on earth, for anything other than Christ Himself, we're wasting our life. Our eternal relationship with Christ started here and heaven is the eternal continuation of this life.
The chorus and last verse of the Matt Redman song, "Ten Thousand Reasons" speak to a life lived for now and for eternity.
Bless the Lord O my soul
O my soul
Worship His Holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your Holy name
And on that day
When my strength is failing
The end draws near
And my time has come
Still my soul will
Sing Your praise unending
Ten Thousand years and then forever more.
Bless the Lord O my soul
O my soul
Worship His Holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your Holy name
As we grow older and begin to physically and medically struggle with minor and major issues... it's easy to begin, more and more, looking towards the future and longing for our heavenly home... but while we're here we have a job to accomplish.
What are you living for while still here in this life? Don't forget to live for Christ today, while longing to live with Him in the future eternity. Remember, if you're not dead, you're not done.
Help achieve the mission - GIVE today
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