Philippians 1:18-30: a reflection

From prison, facing possible death, Paul expresses a settled devotion so centered on Christ that both life and death are gain to him: for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. For to me to live is Christ, Paul writes, and to die is gain. Whether he lives or dies, Christ is his center: to go on living means Christ, fruitful service to him; to die means gain, to be with Christ, which is far better. Because his whole life is centered on Christ, neither outcome holds any loss for him; both are good, for both mean Christ. This is a life so wholly given to Christ that life and death alike are gain. This shows a life so centered on Christ that both life and death are gain. To live is Christ, and to die is gain: Christ is the center of both. A life centered on Christ finds both life and death to be gain. When Christ is our life, death is not loss but gain. Centered on Christ, we find every outcome good.

Notice the settled peace and confidence Paul has, and its source. He is in prison, facing possible execution; either he will live, or he will die. And he can look at both outcomes and find both to be gain, without fear or loss, because his whole life is centered on Christ. If he lives, that means Christ: continued fruitful service to the Lord he loves. If he dies, that means gain: to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Either way, he has Christ; either way is good. His life is so wholly given to Christ, so centered on him, that Christ is the meaning of both his living and his dying, and so neither holds any real loss. This is a profound freedom, and it flows from having Christ as our true center and treasure. When Christ is our life, our supreme treasure and center, then we are freed from the fear of death and even from clinging to life, because both are gain: to live is to serve and know Christ, and to die is to be with him fully. We do well to seek such a Christ-centered life, in which Christ is so much our treasure that both life and death become gain. When Christ is our center, both life and death are gain. A Christ-centered life is freed from the fear of death. To have Christ as our treasure makes every outcome gain. Seek to live so centered on Christ that death itself is gain.

That is worth taking to heart, for a life so centered on Christ finds both life and death to be gain, freed from the fear of death, as Paul could say, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. We can be gripped by the fear of death and cling anxiously to life; but Paul, with Christ as his whole center and treasure, found both life and death to be gain, because both meant Christ. Christ as our center frees us. Seek to make Christ so much your center and treasure that, like Paul, you can find both life and death to be gain. Seek to live so centered on Christ as your treasure that both life and death become gain, as Paul, from prison facing possible death, could say, for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain; for whether he lived or died, Christ was his center, so that to go on living meant Christ and fruitful service to him, and to die meant gain, to depart and be with Christ, which is far better, and because his whole life was centered on Christ neither outcome held any real loss but both were good, for both meant Christ, which is a profound freedom flowing from having Christ as our true center and treasure, since when Christ is our life, our supreme treasure and center, we are freed from the fear of death and even from clinging anxiously to life, because both are gain, to live being to serve and know Christ and to die being to be with him fully, so that we do well to seek such a Christ-centered life in which Christ is so much our treasure that both life and death become gain.