Don't Waste Your Life - Part 4

I would die that Christ would look great. The unwasted life is the life that puts Christ on display as supremely valuable. I'll say it again.

The unwasted life is the life that in everything you do in life and death puts Christ on display as supremely valuable. You have life given by God for this one main reason, make Christ look great. That's why you exist.

My expectation and hope is that Christ will be shown to be great in my body whether by life or by death. And so there are two parts, life and death. Let's just take one at a time.

How in Paul's mind and in Paul's life is Christ honored, magnified, shown to be great in his life? The answer is given in chapter 3, verse 7. Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I might gain Christ.

How does Paul make Christ look great? Answer, by experiencing Christ as such a treasure that everything else in his life is as nothing by comparison. I count everything, money as loss, food as loss, looks as loss, friends as loss, family as loss, job and success as loss, graduation as loss in comparison with the treasure that Christ has become for me. How do you make Christ look great in your life and thus not waste it? Money is given to you so that you might use money in a way that shows money is not your treasure.

Christ is. Food is given to you so that you might eat it in such a way that it will be plain, food is not your treasure, Christ is. Friends, family are given to you so that you might live with them in such a way that it will be plain to the world, they are not your treasure, Christ is.

Computers, toys, houses, lands, cars are given to you so that you might use them in such a way that it will be plain to the world, these are not your treasure, Christ is. You talk about lifestyle implications, wartime living, the way we display the supreme worth of Jesus is by treasuring Him above all things and then making choices which make the joy we have in His supreme worth manifest. Get it.

And if He is not that for you tonight, if He is not that treasure for you, pray all night if you have to that your heart would be so changed that you would now treasure Jesus above everything in your life. That's the way Paul says he magnifies Jesus in life. Now what about death? My eager expectation and hope is that Christ will be honored in my body whether by life or by death.

How do you magnify Christ in death? Remember that little incident at the end of Jesus' earthly pilgrimage where a disciple was following Him and the other disciple said, what about Him? And Jesus said, it's none of your business about Him. The day will come when you stretch forth your hands and people will lead you where you don't want to go. And John inserts the interpretation, by this He showed by what manner of death He was to glorify God.

Peter was probably crucified upside down and it was planned as a way of glorifying. Takes your breath away. What God may have in store for some of you if you really want your life not to be wasted.

The answer to the question, how can my life and my now death magnify the worth of Christ is given in verse 21, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. How is dying gain for Paul? Answer is given in verse 23. My desire is to depart and be with Christ for that is far better.

That's gain. So, the way you show the infinite value of Jesus for the world to see in your dying is to experience your dying as gain. Because it means more of Christ.

But do you see what that implies about the proportion of affection you have for Christ compared to everything you leave behind? Namely, everything. If death is to be gain, Christ must be more precious to you than everything you leave behind. And when a person dies like that, the world looks on and says, this Christ must be valuable.

Jesus Christ is most glorified in you in your dying when you are most satisfied in Him in your dying. That's what verse 21 teaches. So, in summary, here are the essentials of the unwasted life.

Number one, life and death are given to you.