Devotion #5: To Live Is Christ

Nathan Elliott

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21

Another week goes by and another week is mostly forgotten. I often find myself falling into the same mundane routine and simply wasting time scrolling through YouTube. In those moments, I have to ask myself, “What have I done this week that had eternal impact or value? Who have I shared the Gospel with recently?”

For Paul, there was no life worth living outside of our Lord Jesus Christ. His focus was solely on what Christ had commanded him to do in his time here on Earth. Much of Paul’s ministry was devoted to reaching others with the news of the Gospel. Paul says in Romans 9:3,“For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers.”

Paul was willing to lay down his own life for others to be led to Jesus. However, Paul knew that laying down his life could not lead others to salvation (only Christ’s death on the cross was sufficient for salvation). This passage gives us insight into the depth of Paul’s compassion and earnest love for the souls of all people. This heavenly perspective protected Paul from being in despair by the current circumstances of this world, and instead, anticipating the future with Jesus.

How much of your life are you willing to lay down for the sake of reaching your fellow brothers and sisters with the Good News of Jesus Christ? So much of our time spent will be nothing more than that - time spent. There is nothing any of us can do (outside of the Gospel) that will have an eternal impact. God has allowed us only a certain amount of days on Earth. We will stand before God one day and give an account of our earthly life. When that inevitable day comes, how will you answer God? I encourage you to be bold with the Gospel today.

When talking to unbelievers, make an effort to remember what God has rescued you from and how He has transformed you. This humbling mindset will encourage you to reach others for Christ and look forward to a precious eternity with Him. Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” While an earthly point of view says death is the ultimate end, God’s divine view challenges us as Christians to remember the biblical truth, “to die is gain.”