Are you living 1:21 or 2:21?

Are you living 1:21 or 2:21?

‘AWord from the Pastor’ By Clayton Adams

The Bible states, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) and in Hebrews 9:27 I read “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” More than once, I read that I have a limited time on this earth. What am I doing with the time I am given? Many people accomplish great things during their lives. Many more do not accomplish much of anything. What am I accomplishing?

In the letter of Philippians, the apostle Paul wrote to his friends who were struggling to continue to live out lives of faith in Christ. The Believers in this church were engaged in the same battle I find am in.

Selfishness, pride, living for self instead of realizing the great opportunities I have to live for Christ.

Very honestly I often feel like a failure in living out the faith I have in Christ. I fall for the same temptations and false pleasures that have plagued humankind from the beginning. It's not what I want to do but it is what I do.

Thankfully, Christ forgives!

Paul wrote. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) This encourages me and hopefully encourages you.

My whole purpose is to live my life for Christ and then when I die, what I gain is far more than what I give up.

Paul also wrote, “For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:21) Paul was explaining to the church folks in the city of Philippi why no one from the church in the city of Rome would come to help them, “for they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.” This is true for the vast majority of churches, I believe. We look after our own interests not the interests of Christ or each other. We are selfish with our time, talent, treasure and touch.

As a follower of Christ, I know I have limited time to live, I know that when I die, I will gain more than I give up in this life so why is it so easy for me to seek after my own interests instead of Christ? I find myself living between Philippians 1:21 and 2:21.

I want to live a life closer to 1:21 than 2:21. But I wake up each day and do ask Christ to help me live 121. How about you? Are you living a 121 or a 221 life?

Clayton Adams is pastor at Earle First Assembly of God. You can e- mail him at cpalaa@ yahoo. com, or find Earle First Assembly on Facebook.