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I came across this Bible verse this morning.
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21 (NIV)
For some reason, I really stopped and thought about what Paul was writing in today's reading. When you think about it, this is an impossible standard for us to live up to. Paul, was in essence saying, that this life has nothing for him. He so banked on the promise of what was to come that whatever came his way in this life didn't impact him quite the way it did before he met Jesus.
I think this is how we all are suppose to be when it comes to viewing our lives. Let me ask you a pretty direct question. How are you doing at living this kind of life right now? In other words, how much of death being a gain do you believe given where you are at this moment?
I have to tell you, that question has been on my mind quite a bit after reading this verse this morning. Do I really see leaving this life as a gain? Less than three weeks ago my second granddaughter was born. Would I really see death as a gain if I knew that I would die tomorrow? I'm not so sure I could hold on to this view.
I really want to live. I want to see my grandchildren grow. I want to be there for those milestones of life that they will get to experience. I hope to be part of helping them see love in action as the love God has given me for these precious little gifts of life blossoms into something even more beautiful than what it is now. I want the time to see that love come alive in these kids's lives. That makes death seem like an obstacle, not the opportunity Paul seemed to see it to be. Is there something wrong with me?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to live. I think Paul make that clear in today's reading. He said, "...to live is Christ..." I take that to mean the wanting to live is totally a God centered thing to do if we make God the center of the life we want to live. It is when I use this life as proof that I'm somehow OK in the eyes of this God that loves me that life becomes the center, rather than God being that center. It is when I depend on how this life turns out to make it so that my identity be what I expect it to be that victim thinking tendencies come rushing in.
We often look at life as being the blessing and death as being a curse. I think Paul is trying to get us to see things differently. Paul isn't saying that life is a curse. I think he is trying to get us to see that being with God is the biggest blessing we can ever expect to have. He can be with us in the joys and trials of this life. He will certainly be with us when our final breath comes. It is as we learn that God is always there that life and death can take on a different perspective.
We have allowed what we do in this life to be the basis for our victor status. Show me a person with a good life and I can more easily understand how they have lived victoriously. Today, Paul helped me see that victory has so much more to do with God than with the life God has given us. Isn't it always about the giver of the gift more so than it is about the gift itself?
I think that is why Paul could see death as a gain. When his time on earth was up, he knew that God's presence would be more readily available to him than it is in this life. Win or lose, life or death, Paul knew he was a victor. He knew his victor status came as a result of God' calling him His child. What Paul did might have been important for the moment, but his eternal position before God was secured no matter how what he did turned out in this world.
To live is Christ...to die is gain. This is a victor's way of living. God isn't asking us to give up on our dreams for this life. He doesn't expect us to not seek the joy of watching our children and grandchildren grow into the people He has made them to be. He is asking that we see things the way He does. Just like we long to be here for the long haul with our offspring, God longs to be with us forever!
I want to see death in a different light. I want to be like Paul and see passing from this life to the next as a gift, not a curse. Though it may be a gift that I don't want too quickly, it is a gift that I don't want to fear and be driven to avoid at the expense of the important relationships around me. It is as we waste time worrying about death that life turns in directions that God never intended. There are way too many victim thinking actions being driven by those of us dreading death in life robbing ways. God wants that to change.
Live big today! Live like it is your last moment. Let the joy of this life fill you in ways God wants for you, His child. But, don't let life be all you have. There is so much more. As the victor God sees you to be, death isn't a punishment. Death is a gift that we all get to experience. Let the presence of God be what your life is based upon. When your time here on earth is up, God's presence is exactly what we all will experience every moment of every day in eternity. May you walk in the power of God's presence in all you do to live your life today.
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