Gain

“My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For me, living is Christ and dying is gain.” (Philippians 1:20-21 CSB)

“Why did God allow him to die? I prayed and prayed that God would not let him die, but He did anyway. I’m not sure I can believe in a God like that.”

Questions and statements like this grow out of deep hurt, suffering, and grief. That is to be understood and acknowledged, but it is equally important to understand that they are built on a faulty foundation. The fundamental human belief is that this life is the pinnacle, that it doesn’t get any better than this, that what is achieved in this life is the only historical record that matters, and that death ends it all totally and forever. Those who feel this way assume they know what they are talking about. In reality this is nothing more than argument from the lack of experience. It would be something like a baby not wanting to leave infancy because “it doesn’t get any better than this.”

Paul got it right. Life, and living it to the max, is all about Christ, and dying is gain. There does not appear to us to be any gain in dying, but that is simply because we do not know. We do not have that experience yet. But that is the way of experience, isn’t it? We do not have it until we have it.

Our expectation and hope as Christians is to live life fully, with all joy and peace, and in ways that honor the Lord, and we accept the truth of God’s word in trust that dying is truly gain. That does not mean we like it. It simply means that we see it through God’s eyes rather than our own.

Lord, Open our eyes to see Your perspective. Amen.