Scripture
20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Reflection
The apostle Paul wrote this letter while in prison in Roman; we can just imagine the power and sincerity of those words when discomfort and death where so real to him, not just once, but multiple times in his lifetime!
As a teenager I used to attend these big youth conferences in Brazil during the Summer. Today’s verse was a theme verse for one of them, where the speaker talked about the American missionary Jim Elliot, who was killed by the Huaorani people in Ecuador, the very people group he was trying to evangelize. After his death, his wife Elisabeth Elliot together with other missionaries continued the work of evangelizing the Huaorani.
I remember being deeply impacted by 2 of Jim’s famous quotes:
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
and
“Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.”
Most of us do not have a calling to go and evangelize an unreached people group (although some of us might!), but I hope we all have a desire to one day, when we face Our Maker, to hear the words: “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
Has God been speaking to you about letting go of something that is comfortable to you in order to fully embrace what He has for you? What or who is your source of comfort?
It could be something like finances, your home sweet home, community, friends, lifestyle…
Is your faith more about convenience, or are you willing to step into the uncomfortable, inconvenient, and sometimes hard path to fully experience the fullness of life He has intended for you?
Thoughts for the day
- What does this passage tell you about God or Jesus
- What do you feel God is telling you through this passage
- How will you respond/apply God’s Word today?
- Whom will you share with today’s passage or takeaway?
Prayer
God, You hear. Please let the displaced people of the world know that they are heard. And help us to hear them.
