To Live is Christ and Die is Gain

How does one really get to the point where they see death as gain as Paul did? Much of our culture works hard at delaying death or even disguising growing old in age. I have to be really careful here. While we are thankful for makeup, hair dye, and many other ways people seek to be presentable, our culture has shifted to more extreme measures such as face lifts, injections, and other things to appear much younger than we are. Why is death such a difficult future when we all face it? Death is unnatural.  That may seem odd, but the goal of creation and life was not to end in death. Sin entered the world through Adam; that sin traveled to every person ever born; and death reigned. It is not natural. It is abhorrent and grief filled. Death is a reality for every person ever born…how do we see it as a path to gain? 

Death is gain, when we see it less as a destination and more as transportation. Death is not the end for believers in Christ. Eternity with God (Father, Son, and Spirit) is the end. God is good at providing opportunities to grow less in love with the world and more in love with a future spent with him. Our bodies grow old. We gain more normal pain, less strength, possibly we lose mental sharpness, energy seems to fade, and disease can often multiply. Each of these is preparing believers to desire new heavenly bodies, and more importantly, to spend eternity with their Savior Jesus Christ.  

I know what you are thinking-- so the path to seeing death as gain in eternity with Christ, is just to put down an anchor and wait… No, that is not what we should do! You and I need to see life is Christ. The more we give over to Christ in daily rhythms, the more we see life is Christ.  Paul seems to place Christ in the center of his life and live each day just relying on him for direction and understanding. Now, many of us cannot take our tent making business on the road, as we instead have a home, family, and jobs that connect us to a constant cycle of consistency.  

Practical Examples 

Do we just keep asking God to bless our work alone as if we are adding God into our day? Or do we wake up asking God…”I’m set to take on a meeting at 9a, will you alter that plan if something else will give you glory?” “I’m planning to have 6 stops to make as I work as a plumber. Will you change that plan and open doors to share the gospel?” We should see our daily routines as pathways to center around Christ and his plans.  

How do I live for and to Christ? Every small decision you make toward Christ will lead you to see death as gain. As you inch your way toward Christ in this life, you are gaining ground on eternity spent with him. I like to call these things “micro-decisions.” Small seemingly insignificant decisions that snowball into transformation over time. It starts by picking up the Bible more often and leads to leading a small group in study. It carries on through a path of giving $2 a week to God and snowballs into providing for someone to take the gospel to Asia. Maybe it is a nightly time spent in family worship, with a 7-year-old doing flips across the couch, but it might lead to the next Billy Graham taking the gospel to millions.  

What micro-decision do you need to make toward Christ today? What small steps will place you on the path of growing to see death as gain in the completion of the destination to Christ?

-Pastor John Richardson