In His Name Devotionals
REAL GAIN
In His Name Devotionals
REAL GAIN
“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)
A friend’s ten year old daughter had been on a weekend church retreat. During that time a tragic car accident occurred and her favorite teacher had been killed. The teacher was a caring individual always having her student’s best interest at heart. Because of her love for her students, she became more to them than just a teacher. She was a mentor, a roll model and a friend.
The teacher was a Christian, and he kept that in mind while struggling with how to break the news to his daughter. He picked her up at church on Sunday afternoon. Small talk was clumsy on the way home, knowing what task was ahead. Finally, when he could stand it no longer, he pulled the car over to the side of the road. “I have some bad news to tell you—your teacher has gone to be with Jesus.” He was surprised when his daughter expressed little emotion. After a few seconds passed, showing insight Jesus refers to in Matthew 18:1-4, she said: “If my teacher has gone to be with Jesus, that’s really not bad news, is it?”
Paul said in Philippians 1:21, “...to live is Christ...to die is gain.” That’s hard to say unless you truly believe it. Jesus said He has gone to prepare a place for us to be together. The news that a loved one has gone, or that we are going, really isn’t bad news at all. In fact, it’s great news.
