PAUL'S PERSPECTIVE

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." - Philippians 1:21

Some subjects are difficult to talk about.  Death is one of those subjects.  Some may talk about death vaguely, but it makes them very uncomfortable to speak about their own death. 

It is refreshing when you meet a Christian that is excited about death.  While most seem to go out of their way to avoid the subject, the Apostle Paul embraces the subject with excitement --- and why not?  He had good reasons to look forward to death.  Christians everywhere should share Paul's excitement, but few have the same passion that Paul had. 

Actually, the Apostle Paul's outlook about death was closely related to his view about life.  In Philippians 1:21, Paul wrote, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."  In this brief verse, Paul describes his perspective on life and death.  Paul was incredibly excited about life and death. 

Why was Paul so passionate?  Maybe the better question is, why aren't we so passionate?

We only have one life to live here on earth.  Because of this, we need to live intentionally.  Our time is limited and is passing quickly.  With eternity at hand, we can't waste time or play games.

Let's consider Paul's perspective.  Perhaps his perspective will change ours.

1.  PAUL'S PASSION FOR LIVING

Paul was passionate about life.  His passion was strong because his perspective was undiluted.  He wrote, "For to me to live is Christ."  In that simple phrase, Paul captured the essence of his passion.  Notice that Paul did not write, "For to me to live is preaching," or "For to me to live is mission work."  In fact, Paul did not write, "For to me to live is due, partially, to Christ."  No, Paul wrote, "For to me to live is Christ."  What was Paul really saying?  Paul was emphatically stating that Christ was his life.  For most American Christians, Christ is part of their lives.  For Paul, Christ was his life.  Christ did not occupy a place in Paul's life ... Christ was everything to Paul.

These days, people think that church is about Christ, but business, home or hobbies are not.  Paul was consumed with a passion to know Christ and make Him known.  Every day, Paul was obsessed with Jesus Christ.  Jesus was #1 in his life ... and there was nothing else that came in second, because his life was Christ.

Every day was a time of fellowship with Christ.  Each day was an opportunity for the indwelling Christ to use Paul and make Himself known through the life of the Apostle Paul.  No wonder Paul was excited to live.  It is not a dull life when you have the awesome God of the universe abiding within and working through your life to impact others. 

2.  PAUL'S PASSION FOR DEATH

Secondly, Paul wrote, "... to die is gain."  Paul was not writing about an abstract subject.  Paul knew that his time was running out.  Death was very near.  Despite the fact that death was in his near future, Paul was not sad about it.  Instead, he considered death to be the best thing that could happen to him.

As Christians, we believe that heaven is ahead for us when this life is over.  You'd never know it by the way Christians act.  Many times, we act no different than the unbelieving world.  We treat death as an end instead of a beginning.  Unlike Paul, we act like death is loss rather than gain.  Why is that?  Could it be that we need our perspective changed?  It is time that we believe what the Bible says about heaven.  If you are going to heaven, it is not a demotion to die.  The best is yet to come! 

Here are a few reasons why it is gain for a Christian to die.  First of all, our earthly pain and problems will end.  All suffering will come to an end.  Our burdens will be lifted.  Our trials will be over.

Secondly, it is gain to die because when we die, we move to our new home in heaven.  Heaven will be so much better than anything we've ever experienced here on earth.  Heaven will be a beautiful place.  Best of all, it will be our home forever.

Third, it will be gain to die because we'll get to be many friends and loved ones again.  While we tend to be rather sentimental about this subject, it is true that we'll see our Christian friends and kinfolk again.  Won't that be cool?

Also, if we've been serving Jesus faithfully, we have treasures waiting over there.  As Christians, we are laying up our treasures where they can never be tarnished or stolen.  It will be gain to reach heaven and enjoy the treasures and rewards that will be ours.

Most of all, it will be gain to die because we'll see Jesus and be with Him forever.  A few years ago, I wrote a song with a title that summarizes it all:  "Jesus Will Make It Heaven For Me."  For Paul, Christ was his life.  In death, he would get to see the One who had changed his life.  He would get to serve his Lord in a fuller dimension.  Yes, it will be gain to die.

For Paul, everything was about Jesus ... his life, his death --- everything!  We are here on earth to serve Him.  When we die, we'll continue to serve Him ... and serve Him forever. 

If we truly love Jesus, as we should, we can join with Paul in saying, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."