Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 12
Philippians 1:21
21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.
21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.
Who thinks dying is even better than living? What kind of sense does that make? This statement is deeply uncomfortable. Did Paul want to die? Was he really okay with no longer living? Why would he say such a thing? Can I be comfortable with what is being said here?
I don’t believe that Paul went through his life hoping that he would die. But I think Paul had thought long and hard about his trajectory, his place in the universe, and what was important to him. He was arguably the most effective evangelist and apostle to have ever lived. But even in that midst, he understood that his life had been forfeit because of the grace given to him. Without a doubt, Paul writes these words with a sense of purpose and being thoroughly convinced that there is a deep and satisfying relationship with Jesus that was overwhelming in his life at the end of all this labor and work.
How do we feel about this one abundant life that we have been given? Are we excited about what lies ahead when it is our time to go? And do we make good use of the time allotted for us here?
Paul did not rest. Even when he was in jail, as uncomfortable as someone could even be in ancient times. The book of Philippians shows us what it means to be uncomfortable yet have Peace, have a purpose, and create momentum. I think that it all stems from this sense of death, not only not being the end but from the belief that there is nothing that God cannot do. Therefore, wherever we are, we are entirely in the grace and protection of Jesus. When we recognize this in our lives, there is nothing that we cannot see as a miracle, and there is no way the message God has burning in us cannot be made clear to the world.
How long have we lived in fear? Fear of death, fear of loss, fear of failure. But what if we lived as Paul did? In the uncomfortable? What would the world look like with people who burn with passion and are consumed with the Peace granted to them by God?
Passion and Peace, fire and yet drowned by the Holy Spirit, death that gives life and a life committed to the death and resurrection of Jesus. We have access to all this in the name of Jesus Christ. We are gifted and given to Jesus time and time again. And this is how we live in the paradox of feeling that death is better, but life is a gift in which to glorify God.
1. How can you live in the grace and passion of Jesus everyday?
2. Why should we not fear death? Is it because Jesus already solved that for us?
3. How can we become more and more contagious as Christians?
I don’t believe that Paul went through his life hoping that he would die. But I think Paul had thought long and hard about his trajectory, his place in the universe, and what was important to him. He was arguably the most effective evangelist and apostle to have ever lived. But even in that midst, he understood that his life had been forfeit because of the grace given to him. Without a doubt, Paul writes these words with a sense of purpose and being thoroughly convinced that there is a deep and satisfying relationship with Jesus that was overwhelming in his life at the end of all this labor and work.
How do we feel about this one abundant life that we have been given? Are we excited about what lies ahead when it is our time to go? And do we make good use of the time allotted for us here?
Paul did not rest. Even when he was in jail, as uncomfortable as someone could even be in ancient times. The book of Philippians shows us what it means to be uncomfortable yet have Peace, have a purpose, and create momentum. I think that it all stems from this sense of death, not only not being the end but from the belief that there is nothing that God cannot do. Therefore, wherever we are, we are entirely in the grace and protection of Jesus. When we recognize this in our lives, there is nothing that we cannot see as a miracle, and there is no way the message God has burning in us cannot be made clear to the world.
How long have we lived in fear? Fear of death, fear of loss, fear of failure. But what if we lived as Paul did? In the uncomfortable? What would the world look like with people who burn with passion and are consumed with the Peace granted to them by God?
Passion and Peace, fire and yet drowned by the Holy Spirit, death that gives life and a life committed to the death and resurrection of Jesus. We have access to all this in the name of Jesus Christ. We are gifted and given to Jesus time and time again. And this is how we live in the paradox of feeling that death is better, but life is a gift in which to glorify God.
1. How can you live in the grace and passion of Jesus everyday?
2. Why should we not fear death? Is it because Jesus already solved that for us?
3. How can we become more and more contagious as Christians?
1 Comment
I am putting up that last paragraph where I see it many times each day. May I always live immersed in the paradox of Christ!