Monday: To Die Is Gain
Daily Lesson for Monday 12th of January 2026
In case you have not noticed, we are all, as believers especially, involved in the great controversy, which rages all around us and, indeed, in us as well. We all, in one way or another, experience the reality of this cosmic struggle, and we will until the day we die, whenever or however that happens.
Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-6. What is the basis of the spiritual war we wage, and what are our weapons?
Image © Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com
The most deadly spiritual weapons are ideas, good and bad. Satan uses criticism, betrayal, embarrassment, fear, peer pressure, and a host of similar tools that Christians should never employ. We are, instead, to use love, mercy, peace, gentleness, longsuffering, kindness, and self-control. Our most powerful weapon, judiciously used, is “the Word of God” wielded by the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17, AMP), because only God can bring the truth home to a person’s heart. We are merely the instrument that God uses to accomplish His purposes.
Read Philippians 1:21-22. How do we understand Paul’s point, especially in the context of the great controversy?
Because the battle is spiritual, we’re in a war of ideas and values. Yet, Christ has won the victory at the cross for us, and as long as we stay connected to Him, we can never be defeated, even if we are killed. Paul surrendered his life to whatever happened to him here on earth, however unjust, because he entrusted his life and his future to a higher court.
As Christians, we should not fight so much for our rights as for what is right. It’s not “might makes right,” but “right makes might.” Submission to God’s will is honorable; in fact, it is the only way to be victorious in the war in which we find ourselves. Jesus, of course, is the quintessential example of submission to the will of God, as Paul will bring out in Philippians 2:1-30.
|
In what ways, right now, are you experiencing the reality of the great controversy? How can you draw comfort and strength from knowing that Christ has won the victory for us already? |
When I was growing up we used to watch the stripey, black and gold Monarch Butterfly caterpillars munching away on Swan Plant leaves. That is all the did; eat, crawl in their slow loopy walk, and eat some more. And they grew from almost invisible until they were about 10cm long. Then they appeared to get very sick, Their skin lost its lustre and they appeared to lose their footing. Suddenly, their skin split and with a few wriggles a shining green capsule would be left dangling from a leaf or twig. A few weeks later the capsule would darken and then spit. A crumpled-up creature would emerge that slowly in the morning sun would stretch ang grow into a beautiful winged creature that could fly anywhere it wanted to.
The metamorphosis from a slow, plodding, leaf guzzling grub into a beautiful, elegant flying creature that could escape the binding force of gravity and fly anywhere is one of the great marvels of nature and even today I still stop and examine a Swan Plant when I see one to revisit the experience.
I think this is what Paul had in mind when he wrote:
He extends that Idea:
Why should I be satisfied with the old creature when Christ’s view of us is so much more.
Here is a New Year gift for you. I have done an omnibus collection of my bird photos for 2025. It is 40 minutes long and has about 240 photos of birds and its in HD resolution. So if you want an enjoyable bit of Sabbath viewing, put on some music you enjoy and watch some of the birds I have in my little patch of the world. Look for some of the Osprey fishing sequences!
Bird Retrospective 2025
Children of God have had moments of disappointments,discouragements simply because their their Godly worldviews did not align with that of the ungodly world.
I really like the authors instruction today, that we are to use tools in our ministry that Christ used rather than the tools Satan uses of which we should never use. Very good advice.
I think of to live in Christ, and to die in Christ is gain, is what happens when we are born again. John 3:5. Yes I know Paul was in prison yet, and the risk was high that his death was nigh. Just the same, he was willing to live longer for Christ, that more would have the opertunity to come to Christ through His preaching.
How can death possibly be a gain? Paul did not fear death nor glamourise it. To him, death was a step closer to eternal life with Christ. He was confident that his life was hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3). To him, death was not the end of life, but a transition to another phase, which was pain-free and much closer to eternity. Life is temporal, even for a little while; we must suffer, but we must also be courageous enough to face the struggles and suffering.
Are we ready to die for Christ as Paul was? What does it mean to die for Christ? For us to die for Christ, we must die to self and die daily. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23). This means that we must crucify our sinful desires and surrender our will to God’s will daily. “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.” (Revelation 2:10). We must be willing to lose the world for the sake of Christ. “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (“John 12:25). We must be prepared to die for Christ without fear because “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.”. Jesus gave us an assurance, “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25).
How can death possibly be a gain? To die in Christ we have eternal life that is a big gain. John 3:14-16.
The greatest question is our attitude toward the remainder of our lives—our years on earth—and our attitude toward the inevitable reality of death. Paul’s conviction was not rooted in any attempt to control the day of his death, but rather in the assurance that God is sovereign over both life and death. Because God remained sovereign even in death, Paul could confidently declare that to die was gain. His focus was shaped by Christ’s deepest longing, which became Paul’s own longing, as expressed in John 17:24: “Father, I want those whom you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” Paul longed for God in both life and death, desiring to be with Him without the distractions of this world. Thus, he spoke of death as sleep, awaiting the resurrection morning when he would be with the Lord forever.
Paul’s desire was clear: even in a death expected through execution, God would be glorified. Therefore, death in Christ was not a loss but a gain. Paul’s Damascus Road experience marked a turning point in his love for Christ, enabling him to reflect deeply on Christ’s love for him—even before the foundation of the world. His declaration, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain,” was not an emotional outburst but a settled conviction rooted in divine truth.
To me, today’s lesson is one of the most powerful ones in years. Paul is such a great Christian thinker! He goes down to the bottom of the step-by-step on how to overcome our carnal nature. He continues His Master Jesus’s revolutionary ideas by facing the war against evil with the fruits of inner transformation by the Spirit of God (“love, mercy, peace, gentleness, longsuffering, kindness, and self-control”). I have to repeat this also: “Our most powerful weapon is ‘the Word of God’, because only God can bring the truth home to a person’s heart. We are merely the instrument that God uses to accomplish His purposes”.
From the time of Jesus to the present time, Christians choose ‘life’ or ‘death’ for the sake of Jesus Christ’s Gospel every day – in small or significant events. I consider it rare for someone having a ‘choice’ to be so singularly focused on the ‘Message’, the Word of God, and preferes to die; we call them martyers – those who allow no ‘wordly daylight’ to exist between themselfs and Jesus -, willing to go to their death instead of compromising God’s Truth.
Strife and spiritual half-heartedness will always be present among Christians. Because we are aware of the Truth, temptations to compromise our spiritual integrity as we secure the ‘comfort and security’ the world offers, abound. We offer prayers when hearing of Christians in far away places suffering for their faith; but what should ‘persecution’ knock on our own door?
Will we be strong enough to resist the temptation to give in; giving up the Truth represented in the Word of God? To know intellectually that Jesus Christ won the victory over death is one thing, applying this spiritual Truth in practical ways to our own life is engaging in ‘personal/spiritual’ warfare against the powers of the adversary which can only be won by unmovable faith.
Today’s lesson: Something that made me think was how Satan uses criticism, betrayal, embarrassment, and fear to expose our mistakes. Also, he knows our sins, and he calls us by our sins, but also God knows our sins, and he calls us by our name. How great is God that, every day, He gives us a new opportunity to return to Him! I hope we can declare like Paul, I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
If God wants us to still live here, let us be here but exalt him. Let us occupy till he comes. If we die/rest; and this be because of exalting him, in fact the better for we pause all our suffering and struggle with sin waiting for him to come and give us the final rest and bring an end to sin.