Philippians 1:25-27

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, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.

(v25-26, NIV)

Torn between two decisions, Paul has decided which to pick. Between departing to be with Christ, and staying here to live for Christ, Paul has decided to stay here. Continuing in this work means fruitful labor and is beneficial for those who are still here. As we live for Christ, we build each other up.

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

(v27, NIV)

We are to live in such a way that is worthy of this gospel. We have received this gift of grace that we do not deserve; none of us worked in order to earn it. When we receive a really nice gift, we may be compelled to return the favor or pay back that person somehow. There is no way we could pay back for this free gift of grace given to us by the Lord. We can't pay it back because he paid for what we could not pay. However, because of this grace we receive, it should call us to live in a certain way in response to the gift we have received. Living in such a way is somewhat like living to earn it, but we don't work to earn it because it is a gift we don't need to pay for. This idea reminds me of Saving Private Ryan. A warning for those who haven't seen it, I'm going to spoil it for you. There is a woman who has four sons who are all in the war. However, three of her sons died. So, some high ranking people in the army decided that it is too much grief for a woman to bear the death of all of her sons. So, they decide to try to bring back and remove the last son from the war to be with his mother. A group of 8 men are given the task of finding and rescuing this son, Private James Ryan. On their mission to save this one man, some of them die along the way until they finally find him. However, he doesn't see why he should be saved when everyone else is not. In addition, he is with a few soldiers guarding a key bridge or something like that. So, the group of men set out to save Private James Ryan stay to help protect the bridge so that they can protect and rescue Private James Ryan. There is one final battle where the enemies invade that last position and everyone is killed, but they manage to save Private James Ryan. So, Mr. Tom Hanks, the leader of the group of eight men set out to save Private James Ryan says to him, "earn this". They gave their lives to save him, so they want him to earn the life that they paid for to save. The movie even begins with an aged Private James Ryan visiting the grave of Tom Hanks with his entire family breaking down in tears before the grave asking whether he had earned it or not. This idea is not exactly the same as the call to live a life worthy of the gospel. However, it is somewhat similar and we should rise up to the occasion.