To Live Is Christ
Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. No Christian community is more or less than this. Whether it be a brief, single encounter or the daily fellowship of years, Christianity is only this: We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ. What does this mean? It means, first, that a Christian needs others because of Christ. It means, second, that a Christian comes to others only through Jesus Christ. It means, third, that in Jesus Christ we have been chosen to be together from eternity, accepted in tie, and united for eternity...
-From Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
If I would have had the privilege of being with Pastor Bonhoeffer before his martyrdom, I would have asked if he might include a fourth implication of a community centered in Christ, i.e., that each follower of Jesus in a local church family acknowledges that "to live is Christ." This conviction that Jesus somehow becomes the life of the person who follows him fills the New Testament
- "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:35–36)
- "Christ died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." (2 Corinthians 5:15)
- "You are not your own; you were bought at a price" (1 Corinthians 6:20)... "the precious blood of Christ." (1 Peter 1:19)
- "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me..." (Galatians 2:20)
This weekend, we come to a verse loved and memorized by followers of Jesus for many centuries. Philippians 1:21: "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." Paul is telling us that this conviction is at the heart of our faith. In the verses surrounding the statement, he also demonstrates the difference this truth makes as it transforms every moment of life. I pray that we all will be open to learn and to respond so that—more and more—Christ will be our life.
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor