Thought of the Day !!

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
                          Philippians 1:21 (NIV)
What is this life lived for?  Is it for your job, your family, your spouse?  Is it lived for adventure, getting the most out of life?

All these things are important and God-given gifts to humanity.  But Paul knew that there was something (or I should say someone) much more important to live for.  He saw how special living for Christ was.  He lived to make Jesus proud of him.  He wanted his Father in Heaven to look down and say, "That's my boy!", for Jesus to say, "Good job". 

When we have the attitude that to live is Christ, the emphasis of pleasing the world and ourselves is replaced with pleasing Jesus.  We now have someone whom we can please because the world and our selfish selves are never happy for more than a short while.  And ultimately it makes us feel better inside to know we are pleasing our Father and our Savior who sits at His right hand in Heaven.

So if living is Christ, what then is dying?  Dying is gain for those of us who love Jesus.  For death is not the end, but simply the beginning.  When our lives are up here on this earth and we've lived for Christ for as long as our bodies would allow, we gain access to a much deeper and richer relationship with God.  Yes, dying is gain because it is then what we will see God and be with Jesus and experience His Spirit in ways we can never imagine.

Live for Christ.  Your life will be a more enriched one for it.  And remember that when the time comes, it will only get better.

In the love of Christ,
greg