The things that we desire, tell us a lot about ourselves, and impact the decisions that we make. I’ve used the last couple of days, an example, the apostle Paul. And we saw that he had a great desire to see people saved. That really motivated him. He had a great desire to serve others that kept him going, that made him want to go places he had never been before to serve others.
Let me tell you one more desire of the Apostle Paul, that greatly impacted the decisions he made, and the way he lived his life. It’s found in Philippians chapter one. And I want to start with verse 21. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me, yet what I shall choose, I cannot tell. I am hard-pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
You see the conflict that his desire is here, he wants to see others saved, he wants to serve others, but his deepest desire is to go and be with the Lord. And yet, why would somebody want to do that?
If you’re having a fruitful life? If you’re seeing an impact on the lives of others? Why would you want to leave this world? Well, partly because we know that when we serve Christ, we are laying up treasures in heaven.
Some people say I don’t want to leave this world. I like this world. I just want to stay here and never leave. But when you lay up your treasures in heaven, that changes how you feel about it. You’ll want to go there. And also, why would you desire to be with Christ? Well, I think the Apostle Paul wanted to be with the one who had saved his life who had transformed him.
And so our desire to be with Christ doesn’t mean we don’t see our duty here in the world. And as long as we’re here, we should desire to see others saved and to serve others. But ultimately, the desire that really should be in our hearts is a desire to be with Christ, which is far better.