To Live is Christ.

           My foot issue at present  causes me a lot of pain and is on the part of the heel that if you were driving a car, would be resting right on the aggravated area. I don't need to drive much these days as our children take us to most of our medical appointments and see that our grocery supplies are deposited in the house as needed. Church attendance is one of the problem areas at present, but through technology, my wife and I are able to watch some of our favorite churches via the computer. I sing along when I know the song. I know most of the hymns, but some of the newer praise songs keep me wondering which way to go with the musical line. One of the two messages that we heard on Sunday challenged us to reflect on who we are to other people. What do people who know us, describe our person? How are we known by others? Philippians 1:21 says, “ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” 

           Most of us know the life of the apostle Paul and how in his zeal he was on the road to Damascus to cause havoc in the church but God met him on the way and changed his life. From that moment on, the Apostle Paul was on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ. After getting his sight restored, one of the first things he did was get baptized and then started out by telling others about the Lord Jesus Christ at the next sabbath day. He had time for reflection before his sight came back and now his zeal was turned towards the spreading of the Gospel message. The above passage refers to two big parts of life. It speaks about living and it speaks about dying. It is easy for the believer to describe what it is going to be like in heaven and all of the benefits there are in going to heaven. It is the day to day living that sometimes gets us down. We know what we want to be and we know what we want to do but sometimes it doesn't happen that way. We are able to classify people after we have observed them for a time. It's easy to do and we seem to do it naturally. If a person is always working at something, we may say that they are industrious. If they are always picking up things, we might say that they are neat in all areas of life. If they don't say too much, we say that they are a quiet person. The Apostle Paul was about the Lord Jesus Christ in all that he did. Wherever he went, he was involved in the spreading of the gospel message. It would seem that if wasn't talking he was praying. His life was about the Lord Jesus Christ. That is our example and brings up the question, “What do people think about us?” What do people think about you and me. Paul said, “For to me to live is Christ...” Is that your thought today? Is that your goal in life? May we all be able to say, “for to me to live is Christ.” Praise God today that He is the Center of all life including, perhaps, yours and mine.