I read once that one of the most common Bible verses used on gravestones is from the letter to the Philippians that we heard this evening. It says, ‘For to me, living is Christ, and dying is gain’ (1:21). The immediate interpretation of this verse is that to live with Christ now is to live with a hope centred on a future in which we can serve him in an even greater life. This has some merit, but ignores the very important fact that Christ calls us to live here and now…
Paul wrote this letter from his prison knowing that there was a possibility he would never leave that place. It perhaps was inevitable that his thoughts would turn to death, and beyond death, and he was confident that what was to follow was better than anything he could ever imagine. His faith was tremendously strong and he knew God would carry him through any situation…
The subject of death is not one that we want to consider too much or too often – there’s the story of the evangelist who asked all those who wanted to go to heaven to raise their hands. Everyone in the audience did so, except one elderly man sitting near the front of the congregation. The preacher pointed his finger at him and said, 'Sir, do you mean to tell us that you don't want to go to heaven?' 'Sure I want to go, but the way you put the question, I figured you were getting up a busload for tonight, and I’m not ready yet !'
Woody Allen also made a comment about death which strikes a chord with many. He said, "It's not that I'm afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens."
But however little we may like to think of the subject of death though, one of the joys of our faith is that we have been promised an eternal life of peace – a life of no pain, no suffering, no tears, a life spent in eternal communion with a God who loves us beyond any limits we can even conceive.
But, though Paul knew all of that, I don’t think he was writing these words with imminent death in mind at all – certainly he was ready for that, but what he was doing was explaining the challenge of living the Christian life to a young Christian community in Philippi.
Like him they were facing struggles and persecution, they were facing challenges of whether to go on with their faith or whether to give up, and Paul is urging them to remember that whatever trials they may have to face, every one of them is worth it for Jesus, because he would never leave them.
Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission, in the closing months of his life said to a friend, "I am so weak. I can't read my Bible. I can't even pray. I can only lie still in God's arms like a little child and trust." We can pray and we can read the Bible, and we hopefully will be able to for a long time to come, and it’s important that we do both, but most importantly of all, we can also lie still in God’s arms like a little child and trust…
And as Paul considered his own struggle in prison, a prisoner for the sake of Jesus, he understood this. He could still lie in God’s arms like a little child and trust, and even write a letter which has been called ‘The Book of Joy’. From a lonely prison, he wrote this letter which contains the word ‘joy’ 16 times in just 4 chapters…
Far from not understanding the fears and suffering of the Philippian Christians, Paul knew those things all too well, and he was calling on his fellow Christians to realise that the struggle was worth it. Like him, they could wonderfully witness to the Christian faith by joyfully embracing the suffering that came with union in Christ and one another in him… Together, united in Christ, facing anything, they could be joyful…
The life of Jesus reminds us that we don’t follow a simple faith – a leader who loved powerfully enough to die for others is not one that is ever going to be easy to follow, but that life of Jesus also reminds us that he never promised a simple and easy life – he promised a life of fulfilment and ultimate triumph as we share in the glory of his eternal kingdom. The mark of a Christian life is not how much or how little we suffer, but the visible presence of Christ emanating from us.
Paul’s appeal to the Philippians is an appeal to us today – an appeal to remember always that Christ is sufficient for every need and every circumstance, good or bad… He is strength in weakness, light in darkness, bread for the journey of life and hope in despair…
‘To live is Christ, to die is gain’ is not a call to concentrate on the life everlasting at the expense of our lives now, but a call to live now with Christ at the very centre of our lives, knowing that in everything he comforts us, he strengthens us, he guides us…. AMEN
Paul wrote this letter from his prison knowing that there was a possibility he would never leave that place. It perhaps was inevitable that his thoughts would turn to death, and beyond death, and he was confident that what was to follow was better than anything he could ever imagine. His faith was tremendously strong and he knew God would carry him through any situation…
The subject of death is not one that we want to consider too much or too often – there’s the story of the evangelist who asked all those who wanted to go to heaven to raise their hands. Everyone in the audience did so, except one elderly man sitting near the front of the congregation. The preacher pointed his finger at him and said, 'Sir, do you mean to tell us that you don't want to go to heaven?' 'Sure I want to go, but the way you put the question, I figured you were getting up a busload for tonight, and I’m not ready yet !'
Woody Allen also made a comment about death which strikes a chord with many. He said, "It's not that I'm afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens."
But however little we may like to think of the subject of death though, one of the joys of our faith is that we have been promised an eternal life of peace – a life of no pain, no suffering, no tears, a life spent in eternal communion with a God who loves us beyond any limits we can even conceive.
But, though Paul knew all of that, I don’t think he was writing these words with imminent death in mind at all – certainly he was ready for that, but what he was doing was explaining the challenge of living the Christian life to a young Christian community in Philippi.
Like him they were facing struggles and persecution, they were facing challenges of whether to go on with their faith or whether to give up, and Paul is urging them to remember that whatever trials they may have to face, every one of them is worth it for Jesus, because he would never leave them.
Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission, in the closing months of his life said to a friend, "I am so weak. I can't read my Bible. I can't even pray. I can only lie still in God's arms like a little child and trust." We can pray and we can read the Bible, and we hopefully will be able to for a long time to come, and it’s important that we do both, but most importantly of all, we can also lie still in God’s arms like a little child and trust…
And as Paul considered his own struggle in prison, a prisoner for the sake of Jesus, he understood this. He could still lie in God’s arms like a little child and trust, and even write a letter which has been called ‘The Book of Joy’. From a lonely prison, he wrote this letter which contains the word ‘joy’ 16 times in just 4 chapters…
Far from not understanding the fears and suffering of the Philippian Christians, Paul knew those things all too well, and he was calling on his fellow Christians to realise that the struggle was worth it. Like him, they could wonderfully witness to the Christian faith by joyfully embracing the suffering that came with union in Christ and one another in him… Together, united in Christ, facing anything, they could be joyful…
The life of Jesus reminds us that we don’t follow a simple faith – a leader who loved powerfully enough to die for others is not one that is ever going to be easy to follow, but that life of Jesus also reminds us that he never promised a simple and easy life – he promised a life of fulfilment and ultimate triumph as we share in the glory of his eternal kingdom. The mark of a Christian life is not how much or how little we suffer, but the visible presence of Christ emanating from us.
Paul’s appeal to the Philippians is an appeal to us today – an appeal to remember always that Christ is sufficient for every need and every circumstance, good or bad… He is strength in weakness, light in darkness, bread for the journey of life and hope in despair…
‘To live is Christ, to die is gain’ is not a call to concentrate on the life everlasting at the expense of our lives now, but a call to live now with Christ at the very centre of our lives, knowing that in everything he comforts us, he strengthens us, he guides us…. AMEN
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