How are you living? Are you living your best life? Is everything going along well? What is your approach to living? What is your daily attitude? Is it positive? How do you feel about dying? Does it scare you? Do you think about it at all? Do you know where you will be when you die?
Living and dying. Many people do not think about either one as much as they ought to. Some will think about their life and how they want to live it. Others simply go from day to day merely surviving. Few will think about dying. Many do not ponder death until they become old.
Paul tells the church in Philippi that, for him, living is Christ and dying is gain. As people who follow Christ, our lives are to be imitations of His. Imitating Christ includes showing compassion, mercy, forgiveness, caring, serving, and teaching others. It also includes submitting to and honoring God.
Death, on the other hand, few want to ponder. We often hear people say living is better than the alternative. However, if we are followers of Christ, dying means being with Him for eternity. We leave a world of divisiveness, destruction, and brokenness to be live forever in a perfect place. So, the alternative is far better than our current life. Yet, that does not mean we should seek death. Instead, the alternative spurs our hope to live this life as examples of Christ.
We all should take a little time to think about our lives and our deaths. We should think about how we want to live our lives and implement the principles by which we will live. We should be confident in where we will spend eternity and not fear death but use it to build our confidence and hope for this life.
I pray we all take time to think about how we will live our lives. I pray we understand that death means eternity with God. I pray each one of us will choose to live for Christ and be confident in where we will be for eternity. Think about your life. Live for Christ. Be confident you will spend eternity with God.
Philippians 1:21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.
Marty Pressey 