“But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.”
Philippians 1:22-26 NLT
Many Christian’s miss the point of continued existence as we experience it. This often leads to a complete misunderstanding of the doctrine of salvation and an abuse of God’s grace. They erroneously believe that God’s sacrifice was made to save them for this life, rather than from this life. Christian’s should never think this unless it is transitionary in nature. Paul understood this. He pulls back the curtain on his personal attitude by noting that it would be easier for him to die now, if convenience were his goal and metric. Instead what is good is that he suffer so that his life can be of service to the kingdom as it continues to gather those headed for destruction, away from the flames of it. This indicates a complete shift of paradigm where the spiritual truth outweighs the physical, while also noting that one doesn’t eradicate the other. Paul shows that the weight of the physical has simply diminished next to his understanding that the salvation of the spirit is the more important salvation. Yet, he makes it clear that he still has both desires and that both desires can be pleasing to the Lord when they are conformed to his will and his context. This is how we ought to strive to organize our desires as well.
JOSH McGARY. COM 