You may have heard the story of the enthusiastic young man who decided to tattoo his credo on his chest. It read: No Ragrets [sic]. He proudly showed his girlfriend’s father. The father responded, “You have no regrets? Not even a single letter?”
It’s quite possible that you have adopted the Christian version of a credo, something we refer to as a “life verse”—a Bible verse that resonates deeply, provides inspiration, and serves as a personal mission statement. We like to frame these and hang them on our walls, use them as screensavers, put them on our bumpers, and some even get them as tattoos—though hopefully without spelling errors.
I don’t really have a life verse. Mainly because there are so many incredible verses and passages in the Bible. God’s Word is living and active, and since my own life goes through seasons, different verses jump out at me at different times.
However, having issued that disclaimer, if I did have to narrow it down to a single life verse, it would have to be Philippians 1:21. I’ll save you the trouble of looking it up. It reads: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Boom! Mic drop.
Paul packs so much punch into such a short declaration. That single verse, in my opinion, manages to communicate the entirety of the Christian walk. Let me explain.
“To live is Christ...” This is all at once a factual statement, a necessary reminder, and an aspiration. It challenges each of us to ask: “Am I truly living in and for Jesus? Is my life laser-focused on Him?” While I’d certainly like to think so, most of the time, the answer is: not so much.
Paul is also excluding all else. By stating what life is (or should be), he is simultaneously defining what it isn’t. Life isn’t about money, success, achievements, personal satisfaction... It’s not school, family, or career. It’s not even about serving the Church or accomplishing great things for the Kingdom. We’re here to know and follow Jesus. The rest of those things should flow out of our relationship with Him.
As challenging as that can be, the second part of Paul’s truth bomb is even more daunting: “...to die is gain.” Ouch! Paul is not only sharing his own perspective, he’s placing that expectation on every disciple of Christ. We are to live with a readiness and willingness to die for Him. In that short phrase, Paul also emphasizes that death isn’t something to be feared or dreaded. When it comes, it brings with it eternal life with God. To be absent from the body, he wrote to the Corinthians, is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).
In this life, we live in Christ. In the next, we live with Christ forever. It’s a win-win!
Both components of Philippians 1:21 require something inconvenient and often unpleasant: sacrifice. Webster’s defines sacrifice as giving up, renouncing, or considering something a loss. In other words, we can’t live for Christ while living for ourselves. We have to set aside our own wants, desires, and needs, taking up our cross daily and going wherever Jesus leads. There’s also an inherent danger involved. Some of us will be called to sacrifice our lives.
That’s happening today throughout the world. Our brothers and sisters in places like India, China, and Iran are enduring violent attacks, discrimination, and mistreatment. They are courageously risking their reputations, jobs, families, and welfare for the cause of Christ. For many of Multiply’s global partners, this is a daily choice: living boldly for Christ and accepting that death is a possibility.
In a devotional titled, Let Us Keep to the Point, Oswald Chambers put it this way: “It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.”
I’m convinced that’s precisely the point Paul was making. In the trajectory of the Christian life, our highest goal is to honor Christ by loving and obeying Him, with the constant hope that He will be glorified, even in death.
To live is Christ, to die is gain. It actually parallels the young man’s credo. If we live for Christ and die for Him, we’ll finish with no regrets. I have to admit, it would be a pretty good life verse, if I had one.
PRAY
Pray for our brothers and sisters who are boldly living and dying for Christ all around the globe. Ask God to give each of us the passion to serve Him without reservation or hesitation—no matter our circumstances. Invite Him to show you practical ways to live for Christ that will influence those around you to know Jesus.
