Spurgeon: January AM
* 01/07/AM
"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."