Embracing Life

Scripture:
"For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain…and I do not know which to choose." Philippians 1:21-22

Observation:
I have heard it said that any day above the dirt is a good day. This saying has many different versions, but they all mean that any day of life is good when compared to the fact that you could be dead.

Paul would disagree. When thinking about living or dying, Paul goes on in verse 23 to say that he is hard pressed on both sides. To Paul, any day above dirt represents both an opportunity and a loss. The opportunity is to influence the world for Christ. The loss is he has to wait another day before he sees Jesus face-to-face. As I sit with this passage this morning I see two things that must immediately change in my life.

Application:
First, I need to change my view of death. From the beginning of time people from all walks of life have feared death. In our world today, billions of dollars are spent each year trying to delay death or the results of aging. The same applies to me. When I think about death, there are two primary things that scare me; the anticipation of death itself and concern for my family. When I think about dying those are the first things that generally pop into my mind. Honestly, I do not know how to overcome either of those. I think for now I will have to pray through them and let God move in my heart.

Second, I need to change my goal for living. I am a seize the day kind of guy. I like to wake up early and charge into my day with both guns blazing. That is just the way I am. The problem is I often go running off into the wrong direction. I pursue goals that lead to nowhere. There is nothing about time spent at work, with family, or at my leisure that can really ever satisfy me. I can have a good day doing these things. Actually, I can have a great day doing these things and create some really good memories. But there is nothing about these things that can bring about a self-sustaining river of life to me. The only thing that can do this is living for Christ. This is incredible when I think about all the teachings that I have heard over my lifetime. Most of the knowledge poured into my head tried to teach me about right and wrong. Good and evil. Reward and punishment. In short, they created in my mind a model where I was supposed to spend my days trying not to screw up and if I did screw up, I had better confess it fast before I got torched. In my opinion, that is a really crappy model.

Prayer:
Life with You is much more than just being good. It is reckless. It is adventure. It is impactful. It is world changing. The more I live for Christ, the less the world really seems to matter. I want to go deeper. I want to grow in my desire for Christ to be known to others until I reach the point where all that matters about life anymore is seeking Your kingdom in the lives of others. I need You to create inside of my heart a true picture of what death will mean to me. I want the kingdom of heaven to become a reality to me today. I also want to release to You my wife and kids. I need to trust that regardless of what happens to me You are their protector, provider, and source of love.