This one verse, if we had no other, would show us that the apostle Paul had all his priorities in proper order. He not only considered Christ the most important thing in his life, but he also viewed death from the right perspective. Life carried the prospect of serving Christ, and death carried the prospect of ever dwelling with Christ. Hence he says, "Whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's" (Romans 14:8). It was his chief desire that Christ might be magnified in his body, "whether it be by life, or by death." Only the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit within the heart of a person can produce this kind of attitude toward Christ and these views toward life and death. 

    Paul considered Christ to be his life (See Col. 3:4). To him there was no real living without Christ. To him Christ was all in all. This is the key to the fact that he had learned, in whatsoever state he was, therewith to be content (Philippians 4:11). The man or woman whose greatest love in life is Christ, always has Him to draw upon, to feed upon, to lean upon, no matter what their circumstances may be. 

    To have the fervent love of Christ in our heart is to have contentment even when all outward conditions appear to be against us. It was this love, in full exercise, that enabled Paul and Silas to pray and sing praises unto God even though it was midnight and they were behind prison bars for no other reason than serving Christ (See Acts 16:25). 

    How indescribably blest, how richly favored, how wonderfully situated, are those to whom Christ is "the chiefest among ten thousand" (S. of S. 5:10) and who enjoy close fellowship and communion with Him. They cannot be robbed of that which is hidden within their heart. Christ is in them, "the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). 

    There can be no real and lasting peace and happiness without Christ. May He draw us into a closer companionship with Himself. May He increase our love and devotion to Him. May He so deal with us that we may also say, as did Paul, "To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."