Daily Scripture
“As 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 1:20-26
daily Devotion
In this passage, we see that Paul’s ultimate desire in his life was to glorify God. He described his purpose for living and his purpose for dying. Paul said “To live is Christ.” What he meant by this was that if he is living, that his living is Christ. Paul’s breathing, moving, and everything was going to be about Christ. What is your purpose for living? We must carefully look at ourselves as our thoughts, actions, and attitude tend to point to a life of living for self.
If we are living for self, we are not living for Christ. When we surrender to Christ, we are not about ourselves anymore. We are actually called to deny self (see Luke 9:23-24). Once we become a child of God, we don’t belong to ourselves anymore (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We took our rights and laid them at the feet of Jesus. We don’t have the “right” to be angry, bitter, jealous, or unforgiving.
Paul also acknowledged the importance of living for others. Paul desired to bear fruit. Through all the difficulty he faced, he continued to progress the gospel. We see throughout Paul’s life that this doesn’t come without a price, but it also has great joy. There should be great joy in serving. Being faithful and obedient in serving others brings unexplainable joy.
Paul knew his purpose: to know as much about Christ as possible, to imitate Christ, to make Christ known to all people, to enjoy Christ, and to glorify God in everything that he did. Why did Paul say to die is gain? He knew that he would be free of sin and the temptation of it, he would be delivered from his enemies, and he would be free from suffering.
Does your reason for living and your reason for dying look a lot like Paul’s? Or does it look like a life that is focused on self?
Elise Williams