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"For me to live is Christ." - Philippians 1:21
The believer did not always live to Christ. He began to do so when God the Holy
Spirit convinced him of sin, and when by grace he was brought to see the dying
Saviour making a propitiation for his guilt. From the moment of the new and
celestial birth the man begins to live to Christ. Jesus is to believers the one
pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He
has so completely won our love, that it beats alone for him; to his glory we
would live, and in defense of his gospel we would die; he is the pattern of our
life, and the model after which we would sculpture our character. Paul's words
mean more than most men think; they imply that the aim and end of his life was
Christ-nay, his life itself was Jesus. In the words of an ancient saint, he did
eat, and drink, and sleep eternal life. Jesus was his very breath, the soul of
his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a
professing Christian, that you live up to this idea? Can you honestly say that
for you to live is Christ? Your business-are you doing it for Christ? Is it not
done for self- aggrandizement and for family advantage? Do you ask, "Is that a
mean reason?" For the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ; how can
he live for another object without committing a spiritual adultery? Many there
are who carry out this principle in some measure; but who is there that dare say
that he hath lived wholly for Christ as the apostle did? Yet, this alone is the
true life of a Christian-its source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end, all
gathered up in one word-Christ Jesus. Lord, accept me; I here present myself,
praying to live only in thee and to thee. Let me be as the bullock which stands
between the plough and the altar, to work or to be sacrificed; and let my motto
be, "Ready for either. "
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