Philippians 1:21: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

June 22nd, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The Apostle Paul made this very powerful and personal statement to the church at Philippi, revealing his attitude toward the final enemy—death. Paul was saying in essence, “I can’t lose. As long as I live, I live to serve Jesus Christ. And when I die, I get even more of Him. So it’s all good.” Paul had lived his adult life for Jesus Christ, but he also had a desire to live with Jesus Christ. Paul’s perspective was that death was a good thing that would move him through the veil and into the presence of God.

There’s a true story about an elderly Christian lady whose age began to impact her memory. She had memorized much of the Bible, but in time, only one verse stayed with her: “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Tim. 1:12). Eventually even more slipped away, leaving only “that which I have committed to Him.” Finally it slipped to just “Him.” As she neared the other shore, she kept repeating, “Him. Him. Him. Him.” She had lost from her memory almost the entire Bible except for that one very important word. However, in that one word, she had the whole message of the Bible, the Good News. It’s not about us, it’s all about Him.

“LORD, help us to keep that fact in front of our minds this day. It is all about You and You alone.”