To live is Christ

https://odb.org/2023/10/05/ready-to-go-2

“For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” is one of the most well-known sayings of Paul (Philippians 1:21), which, to me, is probably the epitome of what our faith is all about. This is because when we pass on, we know that we will be with Christ in heaven, and one day, we will be resurrected with our glorified bodies (like Christ on His resurrection 3 days after dying on the cross for our sins). We will also live in the new heaven and new earth as revealed to John in Revelation 21. That is why in Christian funerals, although we grieve, it is actually a joyous occasion for the departed as they will be with their Saviour. For those of us in the faith, that’s our ultimate goal in life – to be with God and reunited with our loved ones who had departed earlier in Christ.

But in all honesty, not everyone is possibly as confident as Paul of their ultimate destination. We know the spiritual principles of Christ having saved us. We know that we are justified by faith. We know that salvation is by grace. Yet we might be afraid to see Christ face to face. Maybe because we feel we are not ready. We may feel that we have not done enough for God to fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives. Or we may worry about the people we leave behind, our loved ones, our sheep, our congregation, our work and colleagues, and friends. That is also why in Christian funerals, we minister to those who are left behind, the friends and family grieving for those who had passed on.

Thus, I think, as much as we want to be able to say, like Paul, that “to die is gain,” we should focus on “to live is Christ.” If to live for us is indeed Christ, then the time will come when at our dying breadth, we will genuinely be able to confidently say to die is gain. We are confident approaching Christ on judgment day at the Bema judgment seat of Christ that we have done all we could to fulfil His plans and purposes for us and to love the LORD our God with all our heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbour as ourselves. Remember, James had already warned us before – faith without works (good works) is dead (James 2:17). Salvation is by grace and may be free, but our Saviour has to sacrifice His life for us. Therefore, we need to carry our cross and be a living sacrifice unto God that is holy and acceptable to Him (Romans 12:1).