My Life then (my daily reminder)

“For me, living is Christ and dying is gain." 

(After this Paul then talks about what his life means if he doesn't depart from the physical body.)

"Now if I live on in the flesh, 

this means fruitful work for me;"

(Not just work but FRUITFUL work meaning Christ is using Paul for God's purposes without Paul's will in mind.  Paul is like a puppet for God if he keeps on living.  He is just a slave if he keeps on living because he is just doing fruitful work for God's plan to be done.)

"and I don’t know which one I should choose.

I am pressured by both.

I have the desire to depart 

and be with Christ — 

which is far better — 

but to remain in the flesh 

is more necessary for you."

(Paul's tension between departing people because he desires to see God versus staying on as a laborer desiring to help others see God show that loving is loving people.  Just as faith apart from works is dead, loving God without earnestly and genuinely loving people is also dead.  You cannot claim to love God if you do not find in yourself a love for others in the body of Christ.  We know that we live God when we find that we love others.  The depth of how much we love God will be most measured by the depth of how much we love our brothers and sisters.)

"Since I am persuaded of this, 

I know that I will remain 

and continue with all of you 

for your progress and joy in the faith, 

so that, 

because of me, 

your confidence may grow 

in Christ Jesus 

when I come to you again.”

Philippians 1:21-26

Our life now is all about others.  In being all about others as Paul wrote, this shows our inward hearts that love God. 

If we live daily to place confidence in others that God is beautiful, if by our words, our actions and our schedule people see us and think that God is beautiful then we can be assured that we love God.  

When I think about this truth it reminds me that every word I speak is meant to be spoken so that the person I am speaking to hears my words and sees the face of Christ shining before them. 

It also conversely means that when I speak or meet with someone and they do not feel loved or see the beauty of Christ it is an area where God is changing in me.  He is working in me to see Him more clearly, and those are precious moments because they mean I can know better how to see God. 

Everyday is God. 

Eveyrday is my funeral and His resurrection.

If I live it is for others to see what I see. 

When I die it will be for me to see what I claimed to see in fullest clarity. 

"because of me, 

your confidence may grow 

in Christ Jesus"

I hope my life will cause others to have confidence in the beauty of Christ,

Jmegrey