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To Live Is Christ

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

          What does this mean? I understand the part about dying being gain, but what does it mean by “to live is Christ”? It’s something I suspect we twist and complicate. Where do we even look for an example? Paul would be the obvious choice, except he lived 2000 years ago and we don’t have a way to watch his daily routine. Was he able to have a conversation about tentmaking without Jesus being mentioned in every sentence? Yes, I’m going to extremes but if we put living being Christ on my notorious exam table, what does it look like? What are its parameters and rules?

          The answers aren’t easy. We want to say that to live being Christ is lifegiving, life-affirming, and wonderful, but it involves dying to self. We want to set rules about praying, Bible study and memorization, witnessing, etc., but that is legalism and leads to hypocrisy. We want to “living is Christ” into something that makes us feel worthy and good even if what makes us feel worthy  and good involves torturing ourselves. Sometimes, we treat it like a competition.

          I suspect that what it means precisely what we don’t want it to mean. We want it to be an achievable goal for which we can feel good. There may be some many opportunities to feel good involved, but I suspect it means being in a relationship with Christ on a moment-by-moment basis. It involves being a disciple or apprentice. It involves learning from the past and pressing on toward the future without making either an idol, and doing so in a way that matters now. “Now” may be the most important part. It’s easy to plan to do something. When we fail, it’s not our fault. We can plan forever. It’s harder to “get it right” when you’re in the middle of it. But that’s where life is lived, and if we are to hold the view that “to live is Christ” then we have to keep it in the present tense.

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