Morning, January 7
Charles Spurgeon · Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
Philippians 1:21
"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
defence 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."