After being in a Roman prison for approximately two years, the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church in Philippi. This happened somewhere between one and seven years before Paul's death (he was be-headed). Just based on this knowledge, I could probably write about 14 pages on the first chapter alone of Philippians. However, for time and attention span's sake, I'll refrain.
One of the perks of being a Christian is the gift of eternal life. We have something to hope in when our time on earth is through. It can get exciting thinking about spending forever with our Maker, but Paul says something interesting in that first chapter. Something I don't think I've EVER heard anyone around me say.
21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.
Did you catch that in verse 22? Paul had such a burden for ministering to others that he didn't know if he would rather go to his Savior's side or stay and 'work out his salvation' (Read on through chapter two) on earth. What's wrong with this guy? Here he is - almost 70 years old, chained up in a prison for two years, debating whether he would rather die or face more persecution while preaching to others. For most who believe in an Almighty God the answer would be simple...I want to see Jesus! Why suffer here when you can spend eternity pain and problem free with God? What would make him even start to debate which one he would choose? Maybe the answer is this: He believed what he preached.
Ouch!
What does that mean? I'm glad you asked. We all know that Paul was converted to the cause of Christ while on the road to Damascus. After that encounter, Paul was never the same. He knew that he had experienced something REAL. Something that others had to know about. And he was going to spend the rest of his life telling them about it. When I look at these verses, I see the epitome of unselfishness.
I'd rather not suffer, so I would rather go to heaven.
I'm most concerned with my comfort - even at the expense of another's salvation.
Wow! I've never said that...but is that what my attitude is saying?
Do I believe that this whole 'God' thing is real to everyone or is it just real to me?
If it's only real to me, is it even real at all?
Paul knew he was going to face more persecution because of what he was preaching; he even warned his readers that they were going to "suffer for His [Christ's] sake" - but he was still willing to put off his glorification for others' salvation. Has it been that real for me? Am I willing to sacrifice my comforts to further the message that I say I believe? If not, do I really believe what I'm preaching?
I can't recall anywhere in Scripture when Jesus told his disciples to take comfort in knowing they were going to spend eternity in heaven and get to those lost people when they had some free time. Being a Christian is not a hobby. It's not something we do in our spare time when we're not busy with work or school or hunting or vacation or whatever it is we do. When we give excuses for not doing the things of God (such as the ones stated in the previous sentence), what we're essentially saying is "Right now, God's in second place." Does it even matter if He's a close second? No. He's still second. Even if it's for an hour...He's still second.
Here comes the hard part of all this: We can read this, then with a click of a button browse to another web page to find something to entertain me. We can hear this in a sermon and swallow the lump in our throat, get up and walk out the doors of the church to a restaurant that I like. We can go home and turn the TV to my favorite channel, then fall asleep on the couch because I've had a rough week and it's already Monday again tomorrow...OR we can quit worrying about what's going to feed our desires for more than five minutes, and tell others about something REAL that we've encountered. Something that's more than being all about my wants. Something that's changed our lives.
Or has it?
I think Paul had a firm grasp on the reality that time on earth is short and life after is forever. Paul looked forward to his life after death, but at the same time, he knew that his time to labor for the Master was but a vapor. Unfortunately, we've let culture define a lot of our priorities and how we spend our time. We know that life on earth is short, but we've been convinced to live it up. We've forgotten the lost. We've forgotten our task as Christians. Think about this - how many weekends this year have you went to the movies or went shopping or just set aside 'me' time? How often have you set aside 'witness' time?
Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.
When we think of this song, we think of our worldy problems disappearing and having an unspeakable peace in Christ. But what if the things of earth that grew dim were the materialistic trappings of comfort and pleasure? What if the things that became more clear were the hurts and needs of others?
Christ have mercy.
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