If someone asked you to express your expectation and hope as a Christian, what would you say? In today's 2^nd reading from the Letter to the Philippians, Paul answers this question for himself. In the opening statement of the passage, Paul expresses his expectation and hope. First, he expresses it negatively: "It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way." Then he clarifies it positively, "but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death" (Phil 1:20). When we realise that Paul is writing this from a Roman maximum security prison, awaiting trial for a charge of treason that would probably end in his public execution, then we can all the more appreciate the heroic faith that Paul expresses in this letter.

By hoping that he would not be put to shame, Paul is not hoping that he will be delivered from death. His hope rather is that he would be able to endure the tortures of interrogation and not deny Christ in any way. We know this from the second part of the statement where he says more clearly that he hopes that by speaking with all boldness to his interrogators, he will give glory to Christ in his body, even if his body is lacerated by lashes or demolished in death. This is a far cry from the hope of modern day prosperity believers who think that the only way to give glory to God is to be visibly vindicated in this life. Paul tells us that Christ can and should be glorified in the body and life of a true believer, whether by life or by death.

One major difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament faith is the New Testament experience of the death and resurrection of Christ, which shows that God can be glorified both in the life and the death of His loved ones. For the Christian believer, therefore, death, suffering or privation is no longer what it used to be, an indication that God has abandoned His people, as the Old Testament faith seems to suggest. For us, death has lost its sting. Death is no longer real, it is only a shadow. That is why Paul couldn't care less whether he was sentenced to death or not. Either way, whether by his life or by his death, he would still achieve his life purpose of giving glory to the Lord. "For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer" (Phil 1:21-22).

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 for you (Phil 1:21-22).

Someone has observed that this verse is the high-water mark of New Testament faith. Compare this with the high-water mark of the Old Testament, Psalm 23:4, and you will notice an interesting pattern. In Psalm 23 David says, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." In other words, David, the heroic believer of the Old Testament was prepared to die, though he really wanted to go on living. Paul, the heroic believer of the New Testament, on the other hand, was prepared to go in living, though he really wanted to die and be with Christ.

Paul's heroic expectation and hope is made possible by his belief that physical death for the believer means not a separation but a union with Christ. There are Christians today who still hold on the Old Testament belief that death ushers the soul into a sleepy and shadowy existence of separation from and waiting for union with the Lord. Paul himself, in his earlier days, seemed to entertain a similar belief. Basing themselves on 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, some Christians believe that dead believers will sleep in death until they are raptured on the Last Day. Then only will they be with the Lord. But Paul is explicit in the chapter that follows that "whether we are awake or asleep we will live with the Lord" (1 Thess 5:10).

The fear of death is the mother of materialism and worldliness. For Paul, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If you substitute any other word for "Christ" in the first phrase and say, "For me to live is _____ (wealth, pleasure, popularity, power), then you must change the second phrase to: "To die is loss."