Philippians 1:19-26 (Devotion)

TO LIVE IS CHRIST - "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 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. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again."

As Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" once said, "There's no place like home." However, what and where we call home can be a complicated question to answer. Depending on how we choose to look at it, home can be defined differently. The residence in which we primary live can be called home, just as our city, state, providence, region or country of origin can as well. Home can also be examined in the spiritual sense to describe both our present and future state of existence. In any case, "home" is truly where our heart's devotion lies. The challenge for those of us who profess ourselves as Christians is maintaining proper perspective between our temporary and eternal homes. The beauty of Philippians 1:19-26 is that Paul provides a transparent glimpse into the struggle between his own flesh and spirit as he wrestled with the majesty of heaven compared to this fallen world. Knowing he was born-again, Paul longed to spend eternity with Jesus. Yet despite the glory heaven promised, Paul understood that obedience to God's Word and His will took precedent over personal desire. Therefore, waiting on God's timing rather than his own was more important because the calling God placed upon Paul's life had not been fulfilled yet, and it was to the benefit of others that Paul remain on this earth to preach to the lost and disciple new believers despite the personal trials and affliction he would endure as a result. 

To understand Philippians 1:19-26 better, we must also examine the words Paul wrote to the Corinthian church which were inspired by the words of the prophet Hosea. "When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:54–58). No matter the circumstance we find ourselves in, God is ALWAYS at work. Undoubtedly, this truth was extremely personal to Paul and echoed in his heart as he sat in prison counting the cost of following Jesus and proclaiming His Gospel. Nonetheless, Paul remained steadfast in his mission because the words of Hosea 13:14 provided the perspective he desperately needed to live another day. It would have been easy for Paul to throw in the towel and willingly accept his fate as a martyr. Truthfully, execution could have been a blessing rather than a curse because Paul would have immediately been in the presence of Jesus in heaven when he died. However, one would presume one single teaching of Jesus reminded Paul that his labor was not in vain, but rather MORE IMPORTANT than even his own life. 

"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age'" (Matthew 28:18–20). The most compelling part of the Great Commission is that it forces us who are born again to prioritize the eternal salvation of others above our own, just as Jesus exemplified by sacrificing Himself on our behalf. Our heart's devotion is paramount to God, which is why He pursues us with an everlasting love, but it IS conditional. The Bible teaches, "For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God" (Exodus 34:14). God will not share our heart's allegiance with anyone or anything, which is why He is described as Jealous in the pages of Scripture. Many today profess themselves as Christians, but their hearts serve a multitude of taskmasters who dilute and confuse the Gospel message with ever-changing, relative truth. Therefore, let us be clear: We either accept the absolute truth of God's Word and embrace Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives because He is our Savior, or we reject that truth and play Russian roulette with our lives by placing eternal hope in secular religions and ideologies. Paul understood this magnitude of the Great Commission because its core message is the foundation of Philippians 1:21: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." We may wrestle with Paul's perspective in our flesh, but our spirit in Christ attests to its truth for all eternity.

Satan would lead us to believe that preaching the Gospel to others (not to mention, ourselves) is futile, because rarely do we see the ultimate fruit of our labor. Selfishly, many of us long to be a "closer" for Christ by being the one to pray the prayer of salvation with others upon their conversion. However, Satan knows this and uses that knowledge to distract our attention from fulfilling the Great Commission by tactically minimizing the importance of sowing seeds. We live in a culture that passionately seeks immediate satisfaction, but the labor of Christ is most often a slow and arduous process. Make no mistake, though! Just because we do not always have the opportunity to witness another's moment of salvation, the work God does through each one of us when we preach the Good News of Jesus Christ by word and more importantly, attest to its truth by our application of the the Bible's teachings in our own lives, is not minimized but maximized! Consequently, "Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:6–9). Satan cannot quench our joy if we hold fast to this truth and not allow ourselves to be consumed by the need for immediate satisfaction. Sometimes, our love for others and their eternal need for salvation simply falls on deaf ears or brings us persecution as a result. Ultimately though, if we are being persecuted for fulfilling the Great Commission, we are growing in our understanding of what it means to be a Christian despite the spiritual warfare that tempts us to give up sharing our faith altogether.

How then should we live in a world hostile toward Christ's message of salvation? Graciously, Paul answered this question for us. "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:16–18). The calling God places on our lives is unique to each one of us, but its foundation is the same. Let us never forget that we have been given a gift by Jesus, the ultimate gift, that can never be taken away from us no matter what opposition we face in this world. That is why the Bible teaches us to reject the pleasures and ideologies of this world because they pervert the Gospel message by shifting our attention away from God and onto our love of self. John writes, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15–17). No one said it would be easy, but that is nonetheless our calling because it testifies to the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, which is our ultimate witnessing tool.

Therefore, when we find ourselves being tempted to abandon our calling by God to fulfill the Great Commission, let us remind ourselves that this life is temporary and the question of eternity hangs in the balance for every human being. In other words, we could easily throw up our hands, declare our evangelistic efforts as futile, and simply punch our ticket to heaven. We have that option in theory. However, Paul would challenge us to allow the Spirit to work in and through us to accomplish the fruitful labor of sacrificing selfish gain and comforts so that others might come to faith in Jesus by our obedience to His Word. "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (Romans 8:13–14). By doing so, we testify to the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit in our hearts by relinquishing control over our lives to be used by God as instruments of His righteousness in whatever way He chooses for His glory. That is why Paul wrote to his followers it was for their benefit that he remain on this earth rather than accept his fate as a martyr as quickly as possible, and we are challenged to emulate the same sentiment by not wasting a moment of our lives as well. For in the end, we must live each day with wisdom, discernment and perspective that one day we will depart from this earth and be in the presence of God for eternity. But more importantly, how we utilize the time, spiritual gifts, and resources God has graciously given us this side of heaven will perhaps determine whether those we love (and even our enemies) will join us in heaven if they repent of their sins and accept Christ as Savior. Therefore, may we too declare one day as Paul did, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth 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 4:6–8).