November 14, 2010
Dear friends in Christ.
What would you want to do if you knew that you only had 6 more months to live? Now, I know, I asked you a very similar question about 3 weeks ago, and yet once again, this question here it is. What would you want to do if you knew you only had 6 months left to live? Would you want to travel and see sights that you had never seen before? Would you immerse yourself in projects and activities, volunteering your time and your energy to help others who were worse off than you? Would you wake up each and every morning thankful for one more day in which you could make the most of your remaining time, or would you simply roll over, pull the covers over your head, and wait for the end? I think it’s safe to say that if it every happened that we received the news of a severely limited life-span, each and every one of us would be moved to make the most of our remaining months on the earth. Well, in many ways, this is exactly what the Apostle Paul is calling on each and every one of us to do today. Though he may not be calling on us to make the most of our remaining time here on earth, he is clearly calling on us to make the most of our time of grace. In fact, I invite you to open your Bibles with me to Philippians 1:18. Now, when Paul wrote these verses in Philippians 1, he was sitting in prison. He was, as he said, in chains for the gospel, yet even as he wrote he expressed his great joy because he was making the most of his time of grace. He had invested his life in Jesus Christ his Savior, and through his witness, some of the guards who were guarding him had come to faith in Jesus as their Savior. Take a look at what Paul writes beginning with verse 18: “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (Philippians 1:18–20, NIV)
Now, if there were ever a man who made the most of his time of grace here on earth, I would say that it would have to be the Apostle Paul. Even though he had started out as a Pharisee and a persecutor of the Church, when the Lord called him to faith, he made the most of his time of grace by investing everything he had into his life for Christ. Wherever he went, he preached the gospel and told about the Savior. Whenever he was whipped, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, arrested, imprisoned, and otherwise abused, he continued to tell others about Jesus, the Messiah, who had come into the world to free all people from their sins, by his death and resurrection from the dead. Even now, as Paul was preparing to stand before Caesar and his court, he was looking forward to giving glory and honor to Christ his Savior through his proclamation of the Gospel, even if it should end up that he was found guilty and condemned to death. In this way, Paul made the most of his time of grace, for as he invested his life in Jesus Christ his Savior, he was looking forward to the return on his investment, the reward, the profit, the gain of eternal life in heaven. Take a look again at what Paul write in verses 18-26: “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.” (Philippians 1:18–26, NIV)
As Paul writes from prison, he is both looking forward to the reward of eternal life with his Savior, and looking back at how he has spent his time of grace investing his life in the service of preaching the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ his Savior. Though he longed cash in that investment and finally gain the return of eternal life, he knew that his time of grace had not yet come to an end. He knew that the Lord had more investments for him to make, more labor to perform, more time that needed to be spent in this life serving those brothers and sisters who had come to faith and seeking out those who still did not know their Savior. And now, as Paul closes this section of our text, he calls on you and me to do the same and make the most of our time of grace, as he writes in verse 27: “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel (Philippians 1:27, NIV)
In such a simple way, Paul calls on each and every one of us to follow his example, and make the most of the time of grace our Savior has given us. He calls on each and every one of us to put our faith into action, investing our lives in Christ our Savior, as we share our faith with friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers—people who already know Jesus as their Savior as well as people who do not yet know of what he did to free them from their sins. In short he is calling on us to preach Christ with our lives so that people may see those good deeds that naturally flow out of our faith and give praise and glory to God, our Father, in heaven.
But how do we do that? How do we make the most of our time of grace? How do we invest our lives in Christ our Savior and live in a way that is worthy of the Gospel? Simple, we become managers, Christian Stewards of the Gospel which the Lord has given us. We take the time, as so many of us have done, to read, to listen, and to study our Bibles so that our faith continues to grow stronger. We commit ourselves to gathering regularly for worship so that as we give glory to our God we are also built up in our knowledge and understanding of our Lord. We recognize the importance of bringing our children to Sunday school and using that opportunity to gather with fellow believers and study the Bible together, and in this way strengthen and build each other up as we contend as one for the faith of the gospel. Then, when we have filled ourselves with the gospel, we take it with us into the world. We take it with us as we open our mouths to tell others about the faith that we have. We take it with us, as we open our mouths to answer the questions that others ask about our faith and the hope of eternal life that we have. We take it with us and we bring glory to God as we take time to bow our heads and give thanks for the food we are about to eat, even in the midst of a crowded restaurant. We take it with us and show that we are God’s children by the words and the actions we use while working, playing, laughing or crying, and in this way we make the most of our time of grace here on earth as we bring glory to our Savior and our God.
It is in this way that we serve as Christian stewards, investing our lives in Christ, looking forward to the eternal rewards of heaven, and making the most of our time of grace here in this world. Yet, there are times in our lives, when things simply do not go as well as we would like. There are times when it seems that the economy of our lives changes from good to bad as troubles and hardships enter into the picture. But even though there may be times when we seem to face a down-turn in our investment as sickness and sufferings enter into the picture; these are nothing less than blessings God uses to draw us closer to him. Though there may be times when we feel we are receiving negative-returns as chronic illness, debilitating pain, or seemingly endless medical attention is needed, these are nothing less than the lenses our God uses to refocus our faith on him so that we might bring him glory and honor and praise through our life and even, if he should require it, through our death! This is why the Lord has allowed the most intelligent of his followers to succumb to Alzheimer’s. This is why the Lord has allowed the strongest of his people to face Arthritis, Cancer, Dementia, and Parkinson’s. This is why the Lord has suddenly taken the life of babies, young children, teens and even young adults. He does it to remind us that our time of grace on earth is short, and we need to make the most of it now, as we serve him. He does it so that the rest of his people might see the faith and the life of his followers as they endure these hardships, sufferings, and diseases, and be strengthened by the faith of those who have been afflicted. He does it to give us the opportunity to approach his throne of heavenly grace for our friends, our loved ones, and even ourselves when we face afflictions like these. He does it so that no matter what, his name will be glorified by our life or by our death. Just as Paul wrote in verse 21: “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)
What greater comfort could there be than the comfort of knowing that if we should live, we would be living to glorify our Savior and if we should die it would be great gain as we gained eternal life! How comforting it is to know that no matter what we face, be it life or death, we will be the victors! So then, since it is true that we will be the victors whether we live or whether we die, let us make the most of our time of grace by serving the Lord our God. Let us be managers, Christian Stewards, of God’s gift of his Word. Let us go out from here and proclaim the message of salvation with all those around us so that they also might look forward to the great return on a life invested in Christ. Let us not grow weary or complacent, pulling the covers over our heads to wait for the end to come. But let us always be like those who make the most of every day they have left as we make the most of the time of grace our Lord has given us.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN
