I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; and most of the brothers and sisters, having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear.

Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put there for the defense of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ that will turn out for my deliverance. It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.

Philippians 1:12-21

For many, retirement means doing what people believe they have always wanted to do. But we never retire from life. Jesus works in us through His Spirit. The only time we should think about retirement is when we retire from earth to go to heaven. Wherever we are, whatever we do, there is an opportunity to serve Christ. Paul’s sole purpose was to serve Christ, and that should be our goal as well. There is always work to be done for our LORD. As long as we live, Christ can work in and through us if we adopt Paul’s outlook on life and death. For him, there was no retirement from serving the LORD.

Retirement from our jobs – yes;

Retirement from serving Christ – never!

Our Daily Bread – February 10, 2005