To Live Is Christ And To Die Is Gain

 

I watched the Super Bowl yesterday, along with about 130 million other people. As has been true for about the last 40 years, they filmed a commercial after the game, asking the most valuable players what they were going to do next. Their answer was, “I’m going to Disneyland!”.

 

I’ve known several hospice patients who inspired me. If they were in a commercial and someone asked them what they were going to do next, I’m sure they would have smiled and said, “I’m going to be with Jesus!”

 

Paul wrote to the Philippians from prison, “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 by 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” (Philippians 1:20-24).

 

If you could ask an unborn child whether he or she wanted to be born, the answer would probably be “no” because they are comfortable where they are and the next step is unknown.  That, however, is not their destiny. In the same way, we may fear death but this life on earth is not our final home. Paul went on to tell the Philippians, “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:20-21).

 

As a doctor, I’ve often seen death as the enemy, something to fight against for my patients. As a Christian, I see it as graduation day, with the sadness of leaving behind those I’ve been with for years and the joyful expectation of moving on to the next stage in life.

 

When we’re going somewhere, we usually start out heading towards our destination. We may even use GPS to find the most direct way. We usually don’t try to get there by going in the opposite direction! If we’re going to heaven, we should be living in a way that leads us there. Our goal should be to get as close to Jesus as we can in this life. That doesn’t mean we can’t get turned around sometimes – after all, Saul (Paul) had to be struck down from his horse to change the course of his life and Jonah needed a whale to get him where God wanted him.  

 

Let’s make it our goal to live fully each day, seeking the path that our Lord has laid out for us, drawing ever nearer to Him and experiencing His love and care for us, until the day we cross over to be with Him forever.

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The individual posts in this blog have been collected into a book, Reflections From the Basic Truths Blog.  It is available for free as an E-book through Barnes and Noble, https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reflections-from-the-basic-truths-blog-james-yarmchuk/1147055811?ean=2940181202702, Apple Books, and multiple other book websites. It is available for a minimal charge on Amazon and can also be purchased as a paperback through them.