So, if Christians have the hope of the resurrection, if it is better for us to depart this life and to be with Christ (v. 23), why has God left us on this earth after we’ve been saved? Well, there are only a few things we can do here that we can’t do in Heaven. One is to go on sinning, and I doubt very much God wants us to do that.

Another is the need for the sort of fruitful labor that Paul mentions in verse 22. This includes not just evangelism, but also helping other Christians make progress in their faith (v. 25), learning more about Jesus and submitting more and more of their lives to Him. This progress will naturally result in joy for all Christians, those who teach as well as those who learn.

But there’s one more thing we can do on earth that we can’t do in Heaven – and that is to suffer.
But why would God want us to go through that? Sometimes we think God must be trying to teach us a lesson. At other times, we might commit the error of Job’s friends and imagine that suffering always involves punishment for something we’ve done wrong.

But Paul has a different take on suffering, at least the sort of suffering that we might experience because we have devoted ourselves to the cause of Christ: he says it’s a form of reassurance. Since Christ Himself suffered at the hands of a sinful world, when similar things happen to us, it’s evidence that we are on Jesus’ side (v. 28)

And this sort of persecution wasn’t just something that Paul and the Philippians went through back in the first century. No, Christians all over the world today risk being disowned by their families, imprisoned by their governments, or even killed by unbelievers just because they claim the name of Christ. And while we American Christians may not be in such bodily danger, our culture is certainly becoming less and less hospitable to those who insist that there is only one way of salvation, and especially to those who try to uphold Biblical morals and ethics, especially where it comes to marriage.

So, let’s join Paul and the Philippians, standing firm on the good news of salvation by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Let’s live in the hope of the resurrection, seeking to build one another up in the faith, no matter what opposition may come our way. For in this way we not only demonstrate our unity with Christ, but also with all those who have stood with Him for two thousand years.

Philippians 1:18-30 (ESV)

18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,
20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.
23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,
26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,
28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.
29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.