Paul writes, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."
Paul is in prison as he writes a letter of encouragement to the church of Philippi. He begins the letter talking about the opportunities he has to share the gospel wherever he is. Moreover, he has a joyous attitude expressed in Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."
The Romans did not like what Paul was doing in sharing his faith and so they began to imprison him, beat him, and whatever they could within legal means to stop him. Paul simply replied, "Let me live and I WILL tell others about Jesus.... kill me? Ok that is even better, then I get to spend eternity with Jesus." If you do not follow Jesus, this may and should strike you as weird. However, if you follow Jesus and have ever experienced God, you may understand what Paul is saying. For on this earth we should share about Christ to everyone. No, it doesn't have to be in this bullhorn and in your face way. Yet, the gospel needs to be shared. To not share your faith is like getting receiving the best gift and not offering it to anyone. Are we that greedy and selfish to hoard it all to ourselves? Or are we that afraid of someone saying no thanks. If they reject the gift that is fine, but those around you should know what they are rejecting.
In fact, Paul encourages followers of Jesus in this... to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. If that is you, have you ever thought about what that means? What conduct would be worthy of the gospel of Christ? Perhaps let me offer up a suggestion. If at the end of your life, you know you made your life reflect Jesus as best you could and made his name known, then you lived a life worthy of the gospel. That does not mean you never screw up or make mistakes, but that you continue to strive to be better and seek God out. Many Christians live this quiet, self-contained life, that is "acceptable" for our society. If that is you, then you are selling yourself short. What is your attitude here?
http://theromanroad.org/ -- A simple explanation of why to follow Jesus according to the Bible. This doesn't describe the life to live thereafter, but does share about this gift.
No comments:
Post a Comment