To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain

An essential ingredient of healthy Christian living is keeping things in balance.  And I mean the kind of balance that is attentive to all that the Bible teaches about faith and conduct, as opposed to a careless, selective approach that afflicts you with half-truths.

For example, an impatient, incomplete (i.e., unbalanced) handling of Scripture can result in attachment to this world and a fixation with material gain and comfort.  Or it can lead to a disregard for the needs of this world and a preoccupation with the life to come.

I’ve been especially struck with the sense of spiritual balance Paul exhibits in the Letter to the Philippians.  Take the way he ponders his situation as a prisoner—will it result in his execution, or will he live to serve Christ on mission another day (1:19-26)?

Paul suspects that he’ll probably be released, but he knows it could go the other way.  So how does he handle the uncertainty?  Answer:  by seeing it as a win-win situation—as is the case for every believer in all circumstances as we depend on the Lord (Rom 8:28).

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21).  “I am hard pressed between the two.  My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.  But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account” (1:23-24).  The essential thing is that “Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death” (1:20).

Paul demonstrates a sense of spiritual equilibrium that trusts God so boldly such that he’s at peace with being martyred and at peace with continuing to serve Christ’s church here and now.  It’s good to remain in this world, walking with Jesus, resting in his love, sharing the message of life—true life in Him.  And it’s good to come to the end of our days and depart into the presence of the Lord.  Balance.

Scripture shows us that it’s a gift to live on here and now as Jesus’ ambassadors, and it’s also a gift to depart and see Jesus face to face.  Balance rests in God’s provision for us, come what may.