stephen R Harrison

A missionary once challenged me with an interesting question. After sharing a short devotional about “living for Christ,” he asked me, “Would you be ready to die for Christ?” I had not thought about that at all in preparation for my devotional.  My initial response was, “I thought He died for me?” The missionary served in a highly persecuted country where several Christian brothers and sisters had died for their faith.  He talked about Paul’s words in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain,” and told stories about martyrs who furthered the gospel through living and dying.  It made me wonder if I was living life too comfortably and not risking more to advance God’s Kingdom.

The Apostle Paul had an eternal way of looking at life and death that he hoped every believer would employ. For too many years, Paul had not lived for Christ because he was not alive in Christ. Then the Lord saved him (Acts 9:1-19)! While he didn’t know how many years (or possibly days as he was in prison) he had left on the earth, Paul wanted them all to count for the glory of the Lord. His main goal was to exalt Christ by spreading the gospel wherever he went. Jesus said Paul was God’s chosen instrument to share the gospel and suffer in Jesus’ name (vv. 14-15).  

Paul viewed his body as an instrument of praise to exalt Jesus. He believed his life should point others to Christ and hoped his death would do the same.  In Philippians 1:20, Paul “eagerly expected” and “hoped” he would not be “ashamed.”  This wasn’t a feeling of embarrassment like one may think. He believed life and death would not be in vain but would place more focus on Christ. Because of Paul, the entire palace guard knew about Jesus (Philippians 1:13).  Could his death in Rome lead more people to Christ? Paul was ready to keep on living for Christ.  This meant more church planting, encouraging churches, and writing epistles.  He was also prepared to face execution by Rome for treason if that was necessary to bring others to Jesus.  He wasn’t afraid to die as he would gain heaven.

Paul wasn’t ready to escape this world in a selfish “bowing out.”  He believed “to die is gain.” This perspective was not about Paul’s gain but Christ’s gain.  Of course, Paul would receive instant heaven – and what a reward!  More than receiving heaven, Paul wanted more people to receive Christ.  If dying did that, then he joyfully embraced it.  What a perspective!  Exalt Jesus in life, and when God sees fit, exalt Him in death.