Coin Toss – by Laura Stewart

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Apr 12, 2016 1973

For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).

Some things in life are a complete coin toss. One vantage point of a situation could be delightful, while the other side is disastrous. To live is Christ? To die is gain? Sounds simple, sounds confusing. Could this be another one of life’s toss ups?

In order to understand this verse, we should look at who was saying it. Here, Paul was speaking to the church in Philippi, and by this time in his mission, Paul had been through plenty of physical and mental struggles as he travelled around sharing Christ’s message.

Even though Paul had been imprisoned, suffered physical pain, and battled scrutiny from the masses, he still realised that his life was something treasured, and he still had purpose: Christ.

You see, for Paul to say, “For me, to live is Christ,” he was stating that Christ provides the purpose for life. Christ is the lens through which Paul sees all meaning, and without Christ, life is sheer, meaningless chaos. Christ’s peace, joy, empowerment, and fulfilling love gave him the fuel he needed and the purpose for which he was created. Paul was driven to live life because he was in love with his Saviour.

On the other hand, Paul knew that if he were to die at any moment, he would be in the presence of Christ forever– something he valued as the ultimate joy and gain.

This is a great reminder for when life gets tough.  Either way I flip the coin, I can win because I have Jesus. It doesn’t have to be a toss up. The purpose of my life is Christ; his message, his hope, his love.  On the other side, I know that when this life is over, I still have the promise of life forever with the Saviour.

The Lord lived a human life, suffered incredibly and died, and now, miraculously lives again. He’s done all of that for you and me. Do you believe that too? Will you live for Christ and receive the ultimate gain?

– Laura Stewart