January 20 The Gain of Dying For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21 The thought of death deeply terrifies some people. To the one who doesn’t know Jesus personally, it is the horrific passage to eternal suffering. But to the apostle Paul, death was appealing. He knew that to be absent from the body meant that he would be forever in heaven with Jesus—his best friend, his Savior and the lover of his soul. John Bunyan (1628-1688), author of Pilgrim’s Progress, wrote: Let death come when it will, it can do the Christian no harm, for it will be but a passage out of a prison into a palace; out of a sea of troubles into a haven of rest; out of a crowd of enemies to an innumerable company of true, loving and faithful friends; out of shame, reproach, and contempt into exceeding great and eternal glory. There is an inexplicable peace that calms the heart of the one who truly knows Jesus. For that Christian, death is merely the threshold of the door to eternity with Him. John the Beloved wrote, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18). Every fear, even the fear of dying, was dealt with on the Cross by our Savior, Jesus Christ. From this point on, join with the apostle Paul in saying, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Genesis 21; Matthew 20; Nehemiah 10; Acts 20
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 02:26:51 +0000
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