It is Far Better to Go Be With The Lord (Part 2)

Scripture — Philippians 1:21-26

For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me, yet I cannot say which I will choose. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that, by my presence again with you, your boast might abound in Christ Jesus because of me.

Devotion

In the previous devotion we saw how Paul’s life models for us that in the tension of a frail world (and frail people) Christ stands in it bidding us to follow him. That tension could be enough for anyone to choose to depart. I remember sitting in Sunday school and sermons where I learn about a new heaven and a new earth where “there will be no more…” And all I could think was—why would anyone want to stay here? At best all you can do is be a flawed version of semi-perfect, a very subjective semi-perfect at that. I have found that this has created a lot of tension for me in life’s experiences.

It is far better to go. That is not only biblically accurate, it just makes good sense. Streets of gold versus potholes; better to go. Christ as the light in a city or rising gas and electrical bills; better to go. No more tears versus tear ducts and allergies; better to go. There are plenty of reasons to contemplate longing and planning for a renewed heaven and a renewed earth. Death would yield something better. But then again, there is a reason to stay.

Because Paul and the saints in the Scripture had walked with Christ, their conclusion to remain engaged was different. Paul had been a persecutor of the church, but because he belonged to Christ whatever he saw that was inexpressible made working here worth it (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). It would be far better to be anywhere else than prison anticipating death. But even death (Philippians 1:20) just might be worthwhile for God’s reputation. Nothing about prison would feel good for Paul. But perhaps even letting the Romans persecute him might be just the thing the Philippians need to find joy in the Gospel.

And that is how our Gospel works. Christ comes to reclaim all things, even our view on life and its value. The good life is rooted in a Savior who doesn’t come to undo what happens—recall the risen Savior still has holes in his hands, feet and side. Rather like we see with the cross, the gospel is saying: bring the Romans’ most humiliating way to die, bring the suffering, the job loss, the -isms of our era—because he can do something with it. He can do something good with Paul’s life while in prison anticipating death. And he can do something with yours also.

Banner image by Andrew Le on Unsplash.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: The Chorale and the Good Choreographer.

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