This morning’s devotional, from Spurgeon’s classic Morning and Evening, is based on Philippians 1:21: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Spurgeon muses that for Paul, life in Christ was not an end goal, but an all-encompassing state of being:

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.”

Read the entire devotional at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

How would you answer Spurgeon’s question? Are you living your life for Christ?

By: Chris. This entry was posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 9:38 am and is filed under Afterlife, Devotional, Lifestyle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.