“Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better—but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that, because of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What is the thing that most motivates the decisions you make? While there are perhaps many answers to that question, it really boils down to one of two things: what you want, or what someone else wants. We live in the midst of a culture that insists we should be motivated most by the former. The guys who contributed to the New Testament, helping us understand with the Spirit’s help how to live out the teachings of Jesus, pointed in a different direction. We see that here in Paul’s reasoning out his future. Let’s explore all of this in more detail as we work through his thinking with him.

We live in the midst of a culture that is hyper-individualistic. Everything we think, say, or do is focused in the direction of ourselves and what we want. Even when we branch out to do something for someone else, we are really servicing some need of our own. And the thing is genuine, selfless benevolence can be faked. Convincingly so. You might look on someone as the most caring, compassionate, person you know, but while things might look that way on the outside, on the inside their primary motivation is simply meeting a need to feel significant and useful, a need they have been taught can only be filled by doing for others.

Now, on the one hand, this whole line of thinking could lead us deep into the furthest recesses of cynicism. We could begin questioning everyone’s motives, always assuming the worst about all of the people around us. And in a world that didn’t have the love of Christ as a thing, that would honestly be the only response that made much sense. If everyone is a liar, why bother trusting anyone? Too many fall prey to that particular trap and become insufferable to the people around them.

The opposite of this hyper-individualism is a hyper-communitarianism. In the face of the excesses of an individualistic culture like ours, a communitarian one can be made to sound vastly superior in a number of ways. There, you are always looking out for the other, never doing anything for yourself. You are always considering what the impact of your actions will be on the whole community. That’s better, right? Well, yes and no.

The same selfishness that can become such a feature of an individualistic society can still thrive in this kind of environment. That’s because selfishness like that isn’t a feature or a bug of individualism. It’s part of the brokenness of sin in us, and it is going to work itself out regardless of the exterior particulars of our immediate culture. What’s more here, a communitarian society can swing the pendulum so far in the opposite direction of individualism that the worth of a single individual can be lost. Suddenly, you don’t matter in and of yourself, but only as you function as a member of the community.

If these two approaches were the only options we had in the world, what a sad world it would be. Thankfully, though, there’s another way; a better way. This way isn’t rooted in us. It can’t be. We are too overcome by the selfishness of sin that is inherent to our very existence. Neither is this better way rooted entirely in our community. A bunch of sinners in a group aren’t any better than a bunch of sinners acting on their own in terms of building a truly flourishing society. It is instead rooted in Jesus and His love. The decisions we make on a day-to-day basis aren’t made purely out of self-interest, but neither are they made purely because that’s what the community wants. They are made in pursuit of the glory of God and the goodness of the advance of His kingdom.

This higher standard offers a correction to both the excesses of individualism as well as communitarianism. Because it is rooted in the character and command of a God who is perfect in righteousness and holiness and goodness and justice and love, it doesn’t suffer from any of the weaknesses of either approach. It calls us to more without discounting who we are right now. It actively pursues the redemption of our brokenness not merely their being sidelined or eliminated through an effusion of rules.

This is what being a part of the body of Christ offers us. No, that doesn’t mean that every church gets this right. Not even close. Churches are filled with people, and people bring their brokenness with them into everything they do. But when a church is filled with people who are genuinely seeking the Lord, who love Jesus together, who live in pursuit of the Spirit, something powerful begins to happen. God’s mercy and the love of Christ covers over our sins as we work together toward the greater and higher aim of advancing His kingdom.

When this happens you wind up with communities that celebrate and highly value each individual for who they are and who God is slowly but surely making them to be in Christ. At the same time, each individual is living in pursuit of the good of the other members of the community such that no one is living only for themselves. They are living for Christ who calls them to love one another as He did for us.

Each member of a community like this makes decisions based on what will glorify God in Christ the most. Sometimes this means getting something they want. More often it means voluntarily sacrificing their wants and needs for the sake of the interests of those around them. Far from creating a system in which no one ever gets what they truly want, though, when everyone is living like this to the glory of God, everyone finds their needs and desires constantly satisfied. This happens both because there is always someone looking after their needs and wants even as they are doing the same for the people around them, and because the Spirit working in them gradually brings their desires in line with His own which are always focused most on the good of others first.

What we see here from Paul is his reasoning out the best path forward for his own life using this kind of a decision matrix as his guide. He knows that his death is near. And he knows that his death will bring him at last into the arms of his Savior. At that point, all his labors will come to an end. The hardships and sufferings he has faced—including his present sufferings—will be over. What could be better than that? In truth, nothing. And Paul acknowledges this honestly: “I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better.”

At the same time, he knows there is work left to be done. His labors are not complete. There are still churches to plant and believers to disciple so they can stand on their own two faith feet in order to continue the work he has started forward in the direction the Spirit leads them. Being with Jesus is better, but lingering in this life means pointing more people to being with Jesus. “But to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.”

He’s honestly struggling here with which option he desires more. As he already said and we looked at yesterday, to live is Christ and to die is gain. “Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two.”

In the end, though, Paul knew that the work God had for him wasn’t over. As a result, he was ready for that. He wanted that. He wanted that more than the kind of relief from his sufferings his death would bring not because he was at all afraid of death—He longed for it—but because it would benefit them more for the advance of God’s kingdom and the increase of His glory. “Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that, because of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound.”

This kind of thinking is a model for us. It’s only possible in Christ, though, so if this sounds like something you want to try, that’s the only place to start. On your own you might get close, but only in Christ will you find the power you need to break free from the past and move forward into the freedom and life, the community and support found only in God’s kingdom. That’s a goal worth pursuing. The church is where you will find it.