Philippians 1:21-24 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ...I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Paul described his dilemma in this scripture passage. On the one hand he'd rather leave this world to be with the Lord, but on the other hand he felt that his mission on earth hasn't been accomplished yet. "Depart and be with Christ" is his real wish, as he even described it as "better by far." When we read this, we might feel that it's difficult to comprehend, especially for the Christians that are living in North America. We might spontaneously question whether the heaven is really better than the U.S. When our family or friends are gone to be with the Lord, we always ask why the Lord took them. We only ask why when we think one is going to an inferior place; when we ask the Lord why, we mistakenly think that the earth is better than the heaven, but Paul clearly saw that the Lord's presence is far better than the treasure of the world, even better than fame and love. The mission of Paul is summarized in his statement that "it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body." Even though he longed to be with the Lord who loved him, but he also understood the mission that the Lord had entrusted him with. To Paul, it was his mission to evangelism; he lived not only for the Lord, but also for the brother and sisters. He knew that he needed to spend more time to train, disciple and strengthen them. Do you know the mission that God has entrusted you with? It might not be evangelism, but god has already placed many brothers and sisters around you that need to be care for, so don't you think you need to live for them? May God give you the heart of Paul which longed for Him, and also put the mission to keep going for brothers and sisters in our heart, so that we won't ever be discouraged, but will run toward our goal for the Lord! Pray with Pastor Tong 
Lord, we thank you because you have chosen us to follow you. May you draw me to you so that I may follow you closely. Lord, please give me a sense of mission to keep running for the kingdom of god, so that I will not be tired on my spiritual journey, but my strength will be renewed. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen! |
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