To Live is Christ

What is hard for you right now? How is it affecting you? Have you ever thought that your suffering could be a benefit to others?

 

In light of our current topics, Michael Jr., my favorite Christian Comedian, shared about his personal experience with the police. If you haven’t watched or heard his comedy, I highly recommend him to you. He has a way of taking you from light hearted laughter to truth in a quick and powerful manner. This clip is not his comedy, it is his reality.

 

 

It grieves my heart that so many people of color face situations like this just because of the way they look. Injustice is injustice and we ought to stand for justice, and so I am thankful for conversations happening today.

 

[For some, you may be wondering what benefit is there to conversations? Why do people tell me that making friends and talking with people of a different background matter? Watch this video of a preserving courage that transformed lives.]

 

Michael Jr. said a few things that stood out to me:

 

“In my pain I saw someone else’s pain.”

 

“When you’re in pain, look to the person next to you and ask ‘what can I give’”!

 

“Serving others took the anger away and allowed me to forgive.”

 

“There is healing in serving.”

 

He even said that she gave him a gift by revealing her need. Michael turned the narrative of this experience by his sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit to see and serve someone else in pain. In doing so, he blessed her and was blessed by his service.

 

Similarly, the apostle Paul looked to serve others as he suffered in prison for the sake of Christ.

 

Read Philippians 1:12-30

 

Paul made sure that the Philippians knew that he was imprisoned for his stance on the Gospel. There was no mixing politics and religion here. He wasn’t opposing Caesar or Rome, he was representing Jesus. And he didn’t whine and complain that he was imprisoned but used it to preach the Gospel to the Roman guards assigned to him.

 

Paul was under house arrest, chained to a Roman guard. He literally had a captive audience and he didn’t waste his opportunity. He preached the Gospel to each guard assigned to him, which was a lot. He could say that the “whole imperial guard” knew about the Gospel that he was imprisoned for, namely for preaching Jesus Christ.

 

Notice, that “most of the brothers”, the fellow Christians, were now “much more bold to speak the word without fear” because of his imprisonment. Paul’s suffering provoked other believers to stand up and speak out for their faith.

 

How you face suffering will also affect others. People will see how you respond when things don’t go your way. What will they see? Will the joy of the Lord be your strength? Or will you retreat to fear, anger and/or depression?

 

Paul’s attitude was, “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain!” He saw that every opportunity he faced, whether it was in prison or in freedom, he was going to proclaim the name of Jesus to others. Life meant he had to opportunity to share Christ. Death meant he would be with Christ. This view led him to have a win win mentality.

 

Paul longed for death for the reason of being present with the Lord. I think it is important to point out that Paul was not suicidal and he wasn’t despairing. “To die is gain,” is his view of the afterlife. That life with Christ is good, but being in the presence of Christ is better and something we should look forward to.

 

Paul also wasn’t speaking in a vacuum. He was in prison awaiting his sentencing. He could be exonerated  or he could be executed. What lies before him was literally out of his hands and would be either death or life. He was saying, “I am not afraid.” He was willing to turn his imprisonment into an evangelistic opportunity with the guards and a discipleship opportunity by writing letters to the churches. Yet, if he received a death sentence he knew where he was going.

 

In Paul’s pain, he looked to others and asked what he could give them. God directed him to write and share his struggles, his hope and his joy found in Jesus. This leads us to his charge he gives us.

 

“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ…”

 

In your freedom, make sure you live in such a way that makes Jesus look good. Don’t waste your life, don’t waste your freedom on petty things. Ask yourself, how does my life make Jesus look? If I claim to be a Christian but my attitude and actions look more like the world than like Christ, that makes Jesus look bad. But if I am willing to endure hardship and suffering with joy because my confidence is in Jesus, than I make knowing Jesus look appealing.

 

He lists a few characteristics of a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ: standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel, not frightened in anything.

 

A clear and decisive decision that I will stand with my fellow Christ follows in one spirit. I will seek unity in spirit and in mind, that the Gospel of Christ is of utmost importance and I do not want to damage to the testimony of Jesus. I will strive, not against my brothers, but with them, side by side for the faith. I will remind my brothers and sisters in Christ daily to hold fast to the Gospel. In so doing, I have nothing to fear from the enemy, even if that means I will suffer because of the truth.

 

Paul even says “it has been granted to you…” I hear that and I think of “my wish has been granted, yes!” But Paul isn’t saying my wish has been granted, he is saying is that the “gift of faith” has been granted to me and the “gift of suffering” for Christ has been granted.  

 

Such an interesting choice of words. But think about what Michael Jr. said in his suffering and pain, “she gave me a gift to see her suffering and allow me to serve her.” He was blessed and transformed through suffering. Paul was blessed and transformed through suffering. You too will be blessed and transformed through suffering when you fix your eyes on Jesus and seek to serve others.

 

When your heart’s desire is love Jesus above all and to be with Jesus above all, you can truly say, “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”