"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

- Philippians 1:21

Like Paul, all of us, should view death not as an escape from the difficulties of this life, but as a genuine desire to be with the One who saved us from the death that comes through sin. We can say with him, to be with Christ is “very much better”. Here on this earth we have no guarantees. We can lose our jobs, money, health and reputations, but there is something we cannot lose. We cannot lose Christ!! He has promised that we “shall never perish” and declares, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.” The Scripture confirms that even death is unable “to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. We know by faith that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Jim Elliott, martyred by the Auca Indians in Ecuador, once said, “He is no fool who loses what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”. Yes, we can lose all that this world has to offer, but we cannot lose Christ. Be encouraged!

References: Philippians 1:21; John 10:28; Hebrews 13:5; Romans 8:38, 39; 2 Corinthians 5:8