THAT BUCKET LIST!
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, fill me with your presence today. I pray that your love will overflow through me to those I love this season. May they see you in me.
Read PHILIPPIANS 1:18b-26
18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.[a] 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.
Footnotes
- Philippians 1:19 Or vindication; or salvation
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘I’ll praise my maker, while I have breath, and when my voice is lost in death, praise shall possess my noblest powers.’* Pause to reflect on this.I once sat with a group of teenagers as they devised their own bucket list—not so much what they wanted to do before they died, but more of a wish list. Death was far from their minds. Paul knows his death day is near, and his is a very different bucket list.
For him it is a matter of doing what he has always done. He will continue to rejoice. He expects people to go on praying. He expects God to save him, whether this means ‘saved from imprisonment’ or ‘saved to spend eternity with Christ’ (v 19). He hopes, with confidence, to remain faithful to Christ, alive or dead. He will do his best for Christ while he has breath. Reflecting on his well-known words in verse 21, how is he able to say and mean them? He knows what he would prefer (v 23).
Of course, the choice is not his. Fully aware of his pending death, he is well prepared to be with Christ. In many parts of the world, where death is far more present in daily living, people grasp each day as a gift. In our society, that is not always the case. Even many Christians assume that their death is not anytime soon.
Apply
Paul challenges us to take each day as a gift. How are you energetically serving Christ now, actively looking forward to your eternal destination?
Closing prayer
Lord God, there is not a day in which I don’t experience your blessing. Help me to spend each one wisely for the sake of your kingdom.
*Jubilate Hymns gives the original first line: ‘I’ll praise my maker with my breath’. Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
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