For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 

Philippians 1:21, KJV

How much dies Jesus mean to you?

I think the Apostle Paul put it best when he indicated that if he was to continue to live, it would be for Christ. If not, then that would even be better because then he could go home to be with Jesus.

We read this and are impressed, but how impressed are we when people we know feel this way? Does the phrase, "going home to be with Jesus" make you a little uncomfortable? It made me feel that way for a while. After all, wasn't that taking things a bit too far! But when you think about it, this is the only way we should view things. It was again the Apostle Paul who phrased it in this manner:

When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.     Colossians 3:4, ESV

To state it in the clearest way possible, Jesus is our life. We often define ourselves by what we do, so that's precisely how we describe one another: "She is a schoolteacher". "He is a plumber". "I am a preacher". Or we define ourselves by our status, such as "I am a son" or "I am a father", etc. And while all of these things are quite true, they are still not the way God wants us to primarily view ourselves. He wants us to view ourselves as Christians; therefore, we are a Christian schoolteacher, a Christian plumber, a Christian parent. By using Christ's name to describe ourselves in our own minds, it helps us to maintain the proper perspective.

By doing so, we can then set out to live our daily lives in the right way. If I'm just a plumber, well, all I will do is fix pipes and unclog drains. However, if I view myself as a Christian plumber, I will still perform these basic tasks, but I will do so in the context of being a servant of Christ. This means I will not only do my job well, but I will also do it in an honest way, and I will treat those I work for in a kind way. After all, I wear the name of Christ! By living as A Christian when I perform the functions of my everyday life, everyone I come in contact with will benefit.

Furthermore, this will often give us the opportunity to talk to others about Christ in a much more convincing way since we are already acting like Christians should. When we do a good job, people appreciate it. That appreciation often turns into a genuine affection and a respect. And, when people like us and respect us, we will then have a better opportunity to influence them in a good way for Christ. The more we live as though Christ is the reason for our being, the more natural it will then become to provide a proper witness to others for Christ.

And, if we are living for Christ, we will want to have that influence on others. It will become like the salesman who not only believes in his product, but who also uses it in his everyday life. Far too many people do not make good salesmen because they are never sold on their product in the first place. But those "natural born" salesmen are a different breed. They have an uncanny ability to promote their product for the simple reason that they believe in their product.

Now, Jesus is no "product" but there is a natural question that should arise by comparison: Do we believe in Jesus?

If we believe in Him with all of our heart, if we love Him in the same way, if we are convinced that He is in fact our very life to the point that for us to live is Christ and to die is gain, then we will begin to understand what God was trying to communicate to us through His servant Paul. If we live for Jesus, we will want others to do the same. And this will not be because we are trying to "sell" them anything - it will be because we love Jesus, and them, in that order.