Article February 5, 1916 Issue

Loss and Gain

JOSEPHINE SCHUBERT

In his epistle to the Philippians, Paul wrote, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." At another time he spoke of death as an enemy. No one can believe Paul so inconsistent as to teach that an enemy brings gain to any one, hence the only logical conclusion is that when he wrote "to die is gain," he meant to die to the evidence of the material senses is gain. He knew it was only as he died to materiality and became alive to spiritual things, that he could say, "For to me to live is Christ." Again in the same epistle he makes the noble confession : "What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ." If all people would rise to Paul's exalted idea of loss and gain, what an awakening there would be ! What changes in the lives and pursuits of men, what an enormous lessening of selfish greed, and what an abundance of joy would flood the earth!

Carlyle has well said that "everywhere in life, the true question is not what we gain, but what we do." Loving, grateful service rendered to God and to our fellow man in Christ's name, verily brings the true gain; all else is, can be, but loss. There is nothing that will guide us more truly in this blessed service than a constant thirsting and searching for Truth, whereby our spiritual senses are ever kept alert to the "still small voice" of God's approval and blessings. And what could be more grand or more potent for real success or true gain, than to have stamped upon our consciousness the fact that God approves our work? With this confirmation we can say joyfully, as did the psalmist, "Establish thou the work of our hands upon us ; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it."

This, too, may be a safety-value which we can close against false opinions of loss and gain. We should count earthly possessions nothing as compared to riches of divine grace — the true wealth which is gained and kept only as we let that Mind be in us which was in Christ Jesus, and "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith [we] are called." The loss of riches, fame, reputation, is not the loss of anything real, inasmuch as it does not make us poor in God's sight, or in the sight of any who have a spiritual understanding of loss and gain. Some one has said: —

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