Philippians 1:21 - "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
In
our walk in life we don't realize the close proximity of being alive
and facing death simultaneously on a daily basis. In the above verse
Paul is trying to point to us that there is only a comma between "life"
and "death," and every one of us stands where that comma is located.
Life is the vestibule or gateway of death, and death is always close on
the heels of life. The systole and diastole, the throb and beat of the
heartbeat, and the swinging of the pendulum this way or that way are
great analogies regarding life and death.
Apostle
Paul's claim is enamored or fascinated with the joys in his lifetime.
He was a toiler, and a traveler, and he lived a meaningful life amidst
the busyness of life that jostled him in the streets during his
ministry. If we can survey the type of people in life, we can see the
philosopher as he passed, carrying his scrolls of learning and said:"To
me to live is fame", and the merchant in passing by said:"To me to live
is riches", the toiling masses passed by saying: "To us to live is toil
and trouble." Amidst of all these different opinions about life, the
Apostle Paul strikes in with no bated breath saying proudly to us: "To me to live is neither wealth, nor labor, nor fame, nor glory, but Christ..." I believe that if we asked Paul of just what he meant by this, he would probably have said that "CHRIST WAS THE ORIGIN OF HIS LIFE AND HE IS MY EVERYTHING"
Paul
in his claim wants us to understand that if if we want to partake in
the Divine Nature of God, we also must have such a definite experience.
For example: To experience our Natural life, we can trace back this
experience to our parents, and to experience our "Spiritual" Life;
usually it begins in the hour when in early childhood, or later, when
we become a new creation, born again and partakers of the Nature of our
Risen Savior. Christ must be the model of our life. Every man works to
a model. Consciously or not, we are always imitating somebody, and
every true follower of Christ seeks to approximate to the measuring of
the stature of our Lord--"Beholding, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory."
Christ
must be the aim of life. That His will may be done on earth as in
heaven; that others may know and love and serve Him as we do; that He
may be the crowned King of men--that must be our purpose and aim.
External things have no power over the one who can say: "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me"; then we can triumph over Death itself, and say: "To die is gain."
Let Us Pray: Lord,
the climax of a the Christ-life that we must live accordingly is
calling to us. Attaining such climax and goal often seems too steep and
too high for us to reach, but you are our great Shepherd and has known
our limitation and has infinite compassion to us. Help us to fulfill the
good pleasure of your Will and to realize in us the ideals and
expectations that you have taught us to learn from the Cross is to
cherish and appreciate the sacrifice you made.....
Amen!!!!
Lapaifonua (AKA) Taniela Fonua
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