“For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (v. 21)

The Christian’s greatest challenge, in the light of the Gospel, is learning to get this right.

No matter how often we say it, we are still likely to do the actual opposite: We live as if LIVING is our gain. We remain allergic to death, even as we are told that DYING will be our gain. Death is undoubtedly an enemy—but it’s an enemy that no longer holds any real power.

That’s why Paul is torn. He told the Philippians that he was ready for death, because death means being with Jesus, and that’s BETTER. Yet he stewarded his living days in Jesus’ light, too, for a life lived rightly is ultimately lived for Him.

Meanwhile, we are prone to cling to this life’s pleasures, instead of to its purpose. For us, to live is gain, and we’re likely to put our vital hope in Christ off until death. We get it precisely backward.

Don’t fear death, for it is glorious gain, for those in Christ. And, until He comes or you go, live vitally for Him.

— Tyler