#1

September 22, 2024

Today we move on to another Scripture that has been formative for me. It’s a short one:

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

—Philippians 1:21 

Paul is in a Roman prison for his faith. Calling Jesus “lord” in the 1st Century was a political as well as a religious statement. Doing so meant that Caesar was not the ultimate authority in your life, which was in Rome’s thinking, treason—a capital offense. 

Paul fully understood his situation. He could be dragged out, put on trial, and executed at any moment. The day came when this actually happened, but before that as he writes, that prospect doesn’t concern him, because as he told the Galatian church, “I have (already) been crucified with Christ” (2:20). You can’t hurt a dead man, and as far as Paul was concerned, he had given up his life years ago.

In the surrounding verses, he ponders his circumstances, concluding that he would be better off dead, not in a morbid, suicidal way, but death would usher him into the presence of Christ. In the meantime, his entire life is wrapped up in Christ. To Paul, life IS Christ. Nothing else held any attraction for him. I’m working on it; not quite there yet. I hope you’re moving in that direction, too; it’s the only thing in life that can’t be taken away from you.