To Live is Christ?

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21

We live in such a fast-paced, competitive culture that it makes my head spin just thinking about it; but why? What is behind the drive to climb to the top of the ladder? I think it is because of the hole in each one of us that can only be filled by God.  Saint Augustine said it best when he wrote, “God has made us for Himself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Him”. We will always be searching for satisfaction until we let Him satisfy us.

We were made to live in God’s presence, but every person falls short of the mark and there is nothing we can do to earn it; so He sacrificed His Son to give us the gift of eternity with Him in heaven, and that is something we can never repay. When we accept that gift, our job is to live as faithful citizens of our new homeland by being good ambassadors until we are called there; we are representing the King of Heaven. How awesome is that!

This is the only area of life where there should be absolutely no moderation; the apostle Paul was obsessed with preaching Christ when he wrote, “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” I’m not saying that we need to preach to everybody we come in contact with; but do people know who we serve? Do we love others like Jesus did when He lived on this earth? Just how ‘sold out’ are we for Christ?

If I were to personalize that verse and say, “For to me, to live is_____ and to die is _____” and be honest about what would fill those blanks, I’d have to admit my life definitely falls short of what it should be. But His goal is for me to be more like Him, so as I allow Him to work in me, He will conform me to His image. My goal is to keep going, so I can one day say, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die it gain.”