“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through me being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.” Philippians 1:20-26
For many, living this life is the priority. Our focus is on our families, our career, our relationships, our income, our homes, our reputations or our picture perfect benchmarks in life. Oh, how easy it is to get caught up in these things; the things of the world. Every goal we set is so commonly in the direction of obtaining something within this world. After all, how could it not be? We are on the road of the world and if you jump the guard rail, people stare as though passing a wreck on the highway.
Don’t get me wrong, these things are all important and it is great to be ambitious as you progress in life, but what is underlying this chase?
Again, I am just drawn to Paul’s heart. His goal is not something of this world, but that “Christ will be exalted” and he even goes so far to say, “whether by life or death.”
In the past, I have read this passage and thought that Paul was outright out of his mind, crazy. He says that he would be willing to die for Christ, but how many of us have said that we would be willing to die for someone, yet in the back of our minds wonder if we actually would in the heat of the moment?
Yet, as we continue reading, we see even deeper into Paul’s heart. We see Paul’s wholehearted belief in what he has said. “I desire to depart and be with Christ which is better by far…”
Do you believe this? Do you believe that departing this world and the things of the world is better BY FAR?
We see Paul’s absolute surrender to the sovereignty of God. We see Paul being more drawn to the Lord than the things of this world. We see that his desire is to depart to be with Christ.
But do you realize that Paul is surrendering to death in either circumstance, whether by life or by physical death?
Paul says, “If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me” and “I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith…”
Paul’s focus is on exalting Christ through the fruitful labor of making disciples; to encourage them to continue joyfully in their pursuit of faith. Paul’s focus isn’t on the tangible things of this world, but on the Christ-exalting things of this world.
This isn’t natural. Our flesh wants to chase the things of this world. Our flesh wants to check the boxes of the worldly checklist of life. Our flesh desires bigger and better. Our flesh wants to set goals in which we obtain stuff and things. A continual focus on exalting Christ requires a frequent death to self, even while still in the flesh.
It is Paul who says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives within me” (Galatians 2:20) and “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24).
As believers in Christ, there is a war waging within us between the flesh and the Spirit every single day. The battle does not magically disappear when we accept Christ into our lives. In fact, it becomes harder as our eyes are opened to the insurmountable differences between His standards and those of the world.
This is exactly what brings Paul to say, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25)
Through Jesus Christ we will be delivered from this war within us. Through Him, the door has been opened for us to depart and to spend eternity with Him.
Paul’s desire to depart and be with Christ was not born of a desire to depart from this world, but rather the desire to be with Christ. I no longer believe that Paul is outright, out of his mind crazy. I think he got it. I think he understood that being with Christ is by far better than remaining in this battle of the flesh, but I think he also understood that as long as he was here on earth, he had a mission.
It was not to obtain cars and houses, nor find success in relationships and careers. Though those may create pathways to this mission, and are not in themselves bad things, Paul’s focus was on exalting Christ.
I want to challenge you, just as I have been challenged today, to exalt Christ with your life. I want to challenge you to wholeheartedly believe that it is by far better to be with Christ than to remain in the battle of the flesh. But I also want to encourage you in understanding that if you are here on earth today, there is work to be done. Work that requires a daily death to self as we, together as brothers and sisters in Christ, strive to exalt the Lord through our lives. We are called to go and make disciples.
Set your eyes on storing up eternal treasures, rather than the temporary things of this world.
Let the words of Paul resound throughout your every day; “To Iive is Christ and to die is gain.”
