I've spent the last month studying the letter to the Philippians. The passage that has attracted most my attention is the following:
"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 honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:20-21:
I seem to know, realize and appreciate that death is a gain for me. Indeed, death will give me what I cannot have in this world, namely Jesus in full splendour and worth and the ability to appreciate him. In this world, my senses are too dulled by sin to love Jesus.
Now, I must understand what Paul meant by the other part, "To live is Christ". For Paul seemed to express that he couldn't choose between being in heaven with Jesus and staying on earth to bear fruit. For me, the choice is still too easy, so I must seek to understand what he meant.
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I have been thinking about this today, too, and I keep thinking about 1 John 2:5&6... "Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did".
Firt, Jesus is life, so if we walk in Him we have life. He is true life, and we have true life if we are in Him (which our obedience to His Word is proof of).
Second, because we are image bearers of God, we are basically "little Christs" (as my professor said the other day). Of course, this image is tainted because of sin, but when we commit our lives to Christ, and seek to "walk as Jesus did" every day, then we are functioning more as He wants us to live... we are becoming more and more like Christ.
Being like Christ won't be complete until we stand before Him face to face, but that should affect how we live now (living in light of eternity - knowing that "to die is gain").
I don't know if that is cohesive, and I'm not even sure if it explains "to live is Christ", but I was more writing that out in an attempt to begin to understand...
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