Philippians 1:19-26
Every once in a while we are blessed with a can’t lose situation. These are circumstances in which the choices that are open to us each provide solid benefits. So, whatever I choose will provide something good for me and my family. A couple of examples would be if you had two good job offers from which you could choose, or when you are blessed to be able to go out to a restaurant: the steakhouse or the sea food place - Hmmm?
Paul wrote that he had come to a can’t lose crossroads in his life. (Please read our text.) Paul was in prison in Rome and did not know for certain what would be the outcome of his trial. He may be executed, or he might be set free. These were the possibilities that he faced. As such, these were not choices which he himself would make, but these were two roads which lay open to him, one of which the Lord would lead him down.
However, Paul sees that in each of those two possibilities the Lord would bring him only good. On the one hand, if he is executed, he will depart this earth and be with Christ. Paul says of this that it is “very much better.” On the other hand, if he is freed, he will be able to continue to minister to the Christians at Philippi and elsewhere, and that would mean “fruitful labor” for him in the kingdom. Paul seems to think it would be the latter, but it was a can’t lose situation as Paul saw it.
As Christians, we need to see our lives from Paul’s viewpoint. We are in can’t lose circumstances. As long as we are blessed to stay on the earth, we have opportunities to teach the gospel, feed the hungry, visit the sick, encourage the faint-hearted, lift up our hands in prayer - in short, serve the Lord. Yes, we can even enjoy the blessings of life, family, friends, etc. But if the Lord calls us home, then we shall be with Him which is “very much better.”
And the greatest blessing in all of this? - the God who loves us and gives us this can’t lose life to live. Praise our God!
><> Jeff