Philippians 1:21-24 NASB95
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. [22] But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. [23] But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; [24] yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
Today is Olivia’s 73rd birthday, and though I miss her every day, I know that she is experiencing the “very much better” than Paul talks about in verse 23 of Philippians 1. Before I ever met Olivia, she had already chosen Christ to be her life. My addition to her life allowed us to become one in the flesh and to magnify the Lord together for almost four decades, but I was never her whole world. Jesus was. I have often heard Christians say that when they lost their mate that they didn’t know how they could go on because their husband or wife was their whole world. Paul said, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” If Jesus isn’t your whole world, then the fear of death or loss will dominate you because we cling to what we treasure the most. Only those who can say “for them to live is Christ” can also say “to die is gain” because when we die, we are swallowed up by the life of Christ. We worked created for physical separation. It is a result of the fall, and therefore holy grieving the loss of a loved one is real, but believing that you have lost your whole world is not true. Jesus is the whole world for the Christian, and even though I miss Olivia so much, I know that she is in the presence of the true love of her life, and I also know that the One who is my whole world isn’t just keeping me, He is completing me. Olivia did not look forward to heaven because there would be family members there, though she knew that would be a great blessing. She looked forward to heaven because she knew Jesus in his fullness would be there swallowing her up in perfect union with him. I miss her, but even more importantly, I envy her because many years before I ever met Olivia, I had already chosen Jesus to be my life. Happy birthday Libba. I can’t wait to experience him the way you are right now.