WEEK 2 ● Day 3
READ PHILIPPIANS 1:19-21
Fear of death is not an unusual thing. I think most of us have some trepidation about the whole dying thing—what it will feel like, when it will happen, how it will affect the people around us.
But the thing is . . . I’m actually not afraid to die. I’m crazy excited to go to heaven. I’m not saying I especially want to go tomorrow or anything—I’m just enthusiastic about the moment I eventually arrive. I know it’s beyond anything we can wrap our minds around, but I’ve imagined what it will be like quite a bit. I’ll worship God with my new set of Whitney Houston-esque pipes (God and I have already discussed this at length). I won’t get migraines or experience heartache. I’ll sit on a front porch and have a cool glass of strawberry lemonade with Farmor (my Swedish grandmother) and our chocolate lab, Thatcher. I’ll get to see colors I can’t even begin to describe here on earth. I’m excited about being with the diverse people of God without the judgment that so often divides and wounds us. And I’m eager to ask lots and lots of questions—to sit at the feet of Jesus, and to ask Eve what the Garden was like, and to learn from Jonathan about how he remained such a good friend to David through such turmoil and family strife.
When we follow Jesus, we get the extraordinary opportunity to live life not just without fear of death, but with anticipation for what’s beyond. That should change how we live—how we think about our actions here and now, how we relate to the people around us. We can set aside our worries about what might happen because we already know what will happen. And that’s what we see from Paul in our verses today: a rightsized understanding of life and how we’re to live in light of what God has done.
We’re going to spend a bit of time in the BLB today, so let’s hop into Philippians 1:19 and go straight to the Interlinear.
1. Tap on the phrase will turn out (apobainō; ἀποβαίνω, pronounced a-po-bai-no). What strikes you as unexpected about this particular term?
I find it interesting that Paul used a verb associated with boating. (That certainly doesn’t emerge from our English reading of the text, does it?) Paul likely wanted to create a mental picture for those reading his letter—a visual of their prayers cutting loose the mooring, weighing anchor, and then setting sail.
We often forget the impact prayer has on our lives and the lives of those we bring before God, and here Paul is reminding the Philippians (and us) that the result of prayer is action and movement. For Paul, prayer moves him into a perspective that his suffering will glorify Jesus Christ, one way or another. Perhaps he feels as though he’s disembarking from fear and stepping onto the solid ground of the path God has called him to walk.
2. In your everyday life, how can you choose to turn from safety and walk into a life of boldness?
In these verses, Paul isn’t resigned to his fate. He’s leaning into what’s ahead, boldly moving forward. If we read his words in The Message, we can better understand his overall tone and feeling:
I’m going to keep that celebration going because I know how it’s going to turn out. Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, everything he wants to do in and through me will be done. I can hardly wait to continue on my course. I don’t expect to be embarrassed in the least. On the contrary, everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn’t shut me up; they gave me a platform! Alive, I’m Christ’s messenger; dead, I’m his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can’t lose.
3. Using this version of the passage, fill in the following blanks:
I’m going to keep that celebration going because _____
_____.
I can hardly wait _____.
I don’t expect _____.
On the contrary, _____
_____.
Paul’s last line in verse 21 kind of reminds me of that famous line from Friday Night Lights: “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.”[1] Paul has clear eyes. He understands the magnitude of what he’s doing. His heart is not only full but overflowing with love for Christ. And because he loves God so much, no matter what the outcome, he simply cannot lose. He’s not looking at life versus death. He’s anticipating life versus everlasting life with God.
4. How do you feel about the idea of dying? What frightens you? What encourages you?
5. What is your reaction to Paul’s perspective on death in these verses?
When we understand what death means for Jesus followers, we can truly grasp the gravity and opportunity of life right now. As writer and speaker Eddie Kaufholz once wrote,
We are put on this earth for a reason. If there was no reason, God wouldn’t have put us here. He doesn’t need us to hang out in this holding pen for 80+ years, there’s room in heaven. But God chose to put us here—and to live. Live abundantly, live gratefully, live justly, and live to accomplish the work of God. Am I afraid of the afterlife? No. But am I just human enough to not be able to fully comprehend heaven and, therefore, be afraid of saying goodbye to my sweet wife, daughters, friends, homebrewing, crisp fall air, laughing so hard I cry, happy little existence that I’ve eked out? Yes. Because this is the heaven I know—and I like getting to live in God’s creation.
. . . There’s no need to be afraid of death. But, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t be. My encouragement to you is to do all you can to figure out why God has put you on this globe, and leave your tomorrows to Him.[2]
You are immortal until God’s work for you is done. You really will not die. You will not die until God intends for you to die. This is wonderful. I mean, where else would you rather rest than in this?[3]
JOHN PIPER
Paul knew that God had placed him on earth for a reason, and he was ready to be with God whenever that work was done. God’s work in us and through us infuses our time here with meaning, and His promise of life with Him means that our death also has meaning and hope. We’re not optimists if we believe this: We are realists. This is the reality of our life with God. And that is what Paul celebrates in Philippians 1:21.
6. Philippians 1:21 is one of the most well-known verses in the entire New Testament. Write it here:
7. Let’s head back over to the BLB and dig into the original Greek of this verse. How does the Interlinear help us understand the full meaning of the word live (zaō; ζάω, pronounced zah-oh)?
I love the meaning “to be in full vigour,”[4] don’t you? It’s such an exceptional visual: to truly savor and relish life, to breathe and flourish. To live isn’t to simply drift along and exist. Paul is talking about living vibrantly and fully.
Let’s tap on verse 21 in the BLB again and click on Text Commentaries. Feel free to check any of the commentary writers who have something to share on Philippians 1, but we’re going to look a little more closely at what Matthew Henry has to say (click on his “Commentary on Philippians 1,” and scroll down to where it says “Phl 1:21-26”).
8. After reading this little section, write down your biggest takeaways.
9. How would you reword Henry’s observations here?
The enemy doesn’t realize that sending so many troubles our way can drive us into the arms of the Lord. When we find ourselves in pain and struggle, God is our source of restoration and hope. Sometimes that restoration is here and now: As in the life of Paul, our struggle can become a platform for God’s Good News in the lives of others, or a means for making us more like Him. As Lysa TerKeurst reminds us in her book It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way:
God doesn’t want you or me to suffer. But He will allow it in doses to increase our trust. Our pain and suffering isn’t to hurt us. It’s to save us. To save us from a life where we are self-reliant, self-satisfied, self-absorbed, and set up for the greatest pain of all . . . separation from God.[5]
Even if God does not give us a glimpse of restoration in this life, the restoration in our far-better-life-to-come is a certainty. Wholeness and healing await us in life eternal with God. In this life we will have trouble (John 16:33), but trouble does not get the final word.
Talk to God about what His purposes might be in any hard situations or seasons you’re walking through. Ask Him to allow what you’re going through to bring a different kind of depth to your joy.
Amen.