A Word from Our President
As a Christian let me begin by asking you this. Who do you live your life for and why? For me the answer lies in the verse “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21
Most people focus on the second part of the verse — “to die is gain,” and contemplate the joys of heaven. But we should not overlook what comes before. The importance of the phrase “to live is Christ” cannot be overstated. In all honesty, this phrase should be central to every Christian’s life. Why? Romans 11:36 says “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever, Amen” Romans 11:36
Eventually, everyone, not just Christians will come to realize that everything in this universe is about God. (Philippians 2:9-11) He created it all, including you and me. He owns everything, including each of us. Our bodies, minds, souls and spirits are His property. Not only did He create us, but after we turned our backs on Him in the Garden of Eden and became Satan’s property, He purchased us anew with the shed blood of a suffering Christ. The declaration “For ye are bought with a price” found in I Corinthians 6:20 affirms that fact.
So why did He create us? Several scriptures give us insight into the reason for this existence. 1 Colossians 1:16 tells us that “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were created by Him, and for Him. Revelation 4:11 tells us that “thou art worthy, O Lord to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Pretty easy to understand isn’t it. We were created for God, not for us. For His pleasure, not ours.
If we will prayerfully meditate on just these things, hopefully, we’ll realize that the truth of these verses is sufficient to cause us to glorify God by caring for his property in every way possible and refrain from contaminating our minds and bodies with the poisons that this world tries to feed us or by being involved with things which dominate our minds or bodies in a way that would not bring glory to God.
You see all believers are called “To Live for Christ.” Easy? Not really. You see as human beings, it is so easy to be dominated by things in our lives that we, either consciously or subconsciously, consider more important than God. However for me to know, to love, to follow Christ, is my glory and my joy.