Thought from today’s Bible reading from Philippians 1-4.
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose” (Philippians 1:21-22).
Paul was confident in his hope of a home in heaven. This confidence was not based upon the belief that since he had been saved at one time, he would always be saved. Though many believe this today (“once saved, always saved”), Paul did not. He knew that if he quit serving the Lord, he would forfeit his salvation (1 Corinthians 9:27).
Paul’s hope was based upon the Lord’s promise to the faithful. Later, toward the end of his life, he would tell Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). Paul could expect to receive his reward because he had fought, finished, and kept the faith.
With this confidence, Paul was able to say, “to die is gain.” As long as he was living for Christ, he knew he would receive what had been promised.
Paul also stated that as long as he lived, he would be busy laboring in the Lord’s service. He told these brethren that “to live on in the flesh…will mean fruitful labor for me” (Philippians 1:22). Paul had no plans of “retiring” from the Lord’s service. He would not reach a point in his life when he had done all that he needed to do and could just sit back and wait for his reward. He was going to continue laboring until the end.
In every stage of life, we should be looking for the things we can do in the Lord’s service. After death is the time when we can “rest from [our] labors” (Revelation 14:13). Let us continue serving the Lord and living for Him in this life so that we can also say, “To die is gain.”
Tomorrow’s reading: 1 Timothy 1-6
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
