Why is this life valuable to the Lord?

[nebula]

Fresno Joe -

I love the Scriptures!

But would you mind explaining what you are thinking in terms of them relating to the questions and the OP.

Sorry, but I'm just not finding the interpretation.

[nebula]

Your questions are the subject of a five day preach

Why is this life valuable to the Lord? The short answer is we were created to display His Glory and to worship Him. As a believer, besides the Love He has for His creation, we are valuable in that we are to spread the good word, "Go into the nations and make disciples".

Only until the whole world knows Him will things written come to pass. It is up to us to ensure the whole world does know Him.

So we are valuable to Him in so many ways (this does NOT mean he owes us anything at all.... We live only under His Grace)

Neb,

Christ is something more than our Salvation, He is our Life.

Joh

[traveller]

My opinion -

To live is Christ - We are important here because we are a revelation of God's perfect plan of redemption. We are the evidence of His grace. We started out in sin, enemies of God - but are now reconciled to Him through Jesus. Our lives declare the glory of God.

To die is gain - if our lives in the flesh declare the glory of God then how much more will our spirits when released from this body?

[other one]

An object lesson Neb:

Job 1:6-12

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?"

So Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it."

8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"

9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!"

12 And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person."

So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

NKJV

When we Love and follow our Lord and His Father, we are the examples of what Lucifer should have been. Don't forget that it will be the saints that judge the angels and right the wrong done to the Father when they turned against Him and followed Lucifer/Satan. When we are born of the Spirit and follow Him, we make all of creation worth his effort. More than once He has told us that he wished He hadn't made the world.

Like Job, we stick with the Lord when times are good and when they are bad..... though we don't always know why the bad times come.

I think we'll have a better understanding when we get to meet the Father in person. Gives me goose bumps just to think about it.

[Guest man]

My pondering comes out of the struggles I've had with suicide. Why was it so important to the Lord to keep me here? I've never been given a revelation of what task or ministry He means me to accomplish. And "living for His glory" somehow never quite satisfied the hurt and longing. So I began wondering - what is it about this life on earth that the Lord holds so precious to His heart? There's got to be something more(?).

It sounds to me like you're looking for the reason of your existance. Why are you here? What is His mission for you in this life?

That's a question only He can answer.

We've all been put here for a reason. None of us are here by accident. We can speculate all day long as to the reasons why we're here, but at the end of the day, we still don't know. Other than His Word, none of us came with a set of instructions. If we live according to His Word, that's really the best we can do.

Some people will accomplish great and amazing things during their lifetime, while most of us remain in the background, living an almost invisible existance. Does that mean we aren't special in the eyes of the Lord? No.

The best we can do is strive for perfection. That's basically all He wants. If in our walk we accomplish great things, that's good, but if we do nothing more than to try and live according to His Word, that's good too.

Greatness isn't measured by accomplishments, it's measured by the contents of the heart.

1 Corinthians 3

6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.

7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

9 For we are God

[EricH]

Before you answer, please be sure to understand what I mean by what I'm asking.

Philippians 1:21 - For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Question: Why is to live "Christ"? What does this mean?

As I looked at the Philippians passage it occured to me that Paul explained what he was thinking in this regard. Paul was describing his imprisonment and the fact that even when he was imprisoned and others were taking advantage of his imprisonment by preaching the gospel for selfish motives, the gospel was still going out. It was bearing fruit. Paul's prayer was that God would glorify Himself in Paul's life and that Paul's life would have kingdom impact by helping others find Jesus. He disambiguates this in verse 22:

Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don't know which one I should choose. (Philippians 1:22 HCSB)

This seems to carry the same idea as John 15:5

I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me. (John 15:5 HCSB)

For Paul , living was Christ (i.e. he was connected to Christ and bearing fruit for Him).

[enoob57]

Philippians 1:21 - For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Question: Why is to live "Christ"? What does this mean?

The greatest value in the unbounded is God (Father, Son and Spirit)The foundation upon which all else is built (Gen 1, John 1)! So if we live our lives as copying Christ life we live the most value. So God, being Perfect, wanting the most for His children "To live is Christ". To die is gain the consummation of the Father and Son and Spirit's Love in the eternal state "Marriage" -

1 Cor 2:9-13

9 But as it is written:

"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

NKJV

It is important to realize that all that we have experienced here in Godliness is still not evidenced in that experience to come. It is no use in trying to describe the indescribable. But to take all that is precious so far and know it falls short (not in value but experiential realities) is the Spirits testimony of the greatness to come! Certainly to die will be gain to the unbounded realities that await us!

Matt. 10:7 - "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

("Hand" meaning: approached 10, approaching 7, came 1, came close 1, came near 1, come near 2, comes near 2, coming near 1, draw near 3, drawing near 2, hand 7, near 5)

Question: What does it mean that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand as far as we and our lives are concerned?

God The Father knew that the only door (Jn 10) to Heaven would be His Son's work on the Cross. The entirety of all things passes through this Door under the scrutiny of the Lord of Glory " The Son". Law and Grace from Adam to the Last! John 19:30

30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

NKJV

The doorway by The Master Carpenter of Nazareth was now built and the Kingdom of Heaven was made available to every soul born of Woman and the two formed by God own Hands! So now we can say "The Kingdom of Heaven" is at hand to all we speak and all who will hear!

Psalms 116:15 - Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.

Question: If we think of our death being precious to the Lord because it means we are with Him in Heaven, why would He hold our blood accountable to a murderer who killed one of us?

I'm not sure I'm hitting the depth of what I'm pondering, but hopefully enough will come across for responses that will assist my pondering.

He (Christ) who stands at His own DoorWay meets only two kinds of people those who are His and those who are satan's.

Matt 25:37-46

37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'

44 "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' 45 Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

NKJV

All people of the N.T. age, that belong to God, seem to die in the same way as Christ "Father forgive them they know not what they do!" Stephen the first martyr

Acts 7:55-60

55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"

57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. NKJV

May we always with faith unto God have a forgiving heart unto others (as His was)! Oh! but look at the excitement of our Lord when Stephen cried out, full of the Holy Spirit, He sees Christ standing but His normal position is sitting at the Right Hand of The Father!

Mark 16:19

19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

NKJV

The Lord of Glory excited about seeing His children's obedience unto death an unbelievable picture of the eternal humanity of our eternal God!

The judgment of our Lord will be perfect as He is perfect therefore how all is done is perfect unto Him to whom we belong!

Love Steven

p.s. Neb I applogize for the length of this I can be quite a wind bag!

[Matthitjah]

Allright, allright. I'm the King of the five dollar word locker and even I have'nt seen this one;

disambiguates

Good on ya Brother Eric. I concede to your wordsmithyness. "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!"

[nebula]

To live is Christ - We are important here because we are a revelation of God's perfect plan of redemption. We are the evidence of His grace. We started out in sin, enemies of God - but are now reconciled to Him through Jesus. Our lives declare the glory of God.

A revelation to who?

When we Love and follow our Lord and His Father, we are the examples of what Lucifer should have been.

Does Lucifer need the example?

[nebula]

i am SO right there with you, neb.

in pondering your question though, i'm thinking that maybe this life on earth is NOT what is precious to Him. i'm thinking it is US who are precious and He does what He does because that is what's best for us--

Perhaps . . . but something keeps nagging me that there's something more.

It may go back to the question of why the Lord created this physical reality in the first place.

Edited May 10, 2010 by nebula