Challenge: Intentional for Christ

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Phil 1:21 (NASB)

This verse and the passage following (Phil 1:21-26) are very well-known.  But, how well-lived are they?  Just speaking for myself…not very.

Reading this passage this morning forced me to stop and look at what my life is right now.  It is catching up on rest after a very busy two weeks.  It is trying to get Christmas gifts made.  It is making sure I keep up with the kids’ school schedule.  It is a list of things so temporal. 

All of these things can flow out of living for Christ, but they cannot be my focus.  When they are my focus, I cannot say that for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.  In all honesty, that is where I am right now – with the temporal things of life my focus, not Christ.   And I am feeling the effects of that in the fact that I can’t seem to keep up with any of the things I am trying to focus on.  Meanwhile, I can’t even begin to consider expanding in any way.  There are needs all around me, but how can I help meet even one of them when I am so caught up in making sure I do my things?

This happens now and then simply because I start taking  reliance and focus on Christ for granted.  I stop working on it.  I stop being intentional about it.  I just assume it’s going to remain without much effort.  It never does, and when I stop being intentional, I start falling.  So, my challenge is to be intentional once again and trust that as I focus on Him, His work through me will, in every way, fall into place beautifully and perfectly.