Monday 21st December
“…as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.”
Don’t be afraid of death, because it is the doorway into a life that is “far better” with Christ!
Do you hear the conflict in Paul’s heart as he writes these words to the Philippians? Yes, he wants to go on living on earth so that he can build Christ’s Kingdom here on earth in the hearts and lives of people. But at the same time, he knows that life “with Christ” is going to be so much better and he can’t wait for that!
God is reminding you today that, as a Christian, life after death is not only something to be very excited about, but it should also galvanise you to reach those friends of yours who are lost so that they can join you! Your enthusiastic confidence about that makes you radically different from the people around you. So let them see it!
Can you honestly say, as Paul said, “to die is gain?” What is stopping you from saying that? How is that reflected in the way you live and relate to the people around you?
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