Chapter 306—Counting the Cost
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Philippians 3:7
.
Moses renounced a prospective kingdom, Paul the advantages of wealth
and honor among his people, for a life of burden bearing in God’s service.
To many the life of these men appears one of renunciation and sacrifice. Was
it really so? ...
Moses was offered the palace of the Pharaohs and the monarch’s throne;
but the sinful pleasures that make men forget God were in those lordly courts,
and he chose instead the “durable riches and righteousness” (
Proverbs 8:18
).
Instead of linking himself with the greatness of Egypt, he chose to bind up
his life with God’s purpose. Instead of giving laws to Egypt, he by divine
direction enacted laws for the world. He became God’s instrument in giving
to men those principles that are the safeguard alike of the home and of society,
that are the cornerstone of the prosperity of nations—principles recognized
today by the world’s greatest men as the foundation of all that is best in
human governments.
The greatness of Egypt is in the dust. Its power and civilization have
passed away. But the work of Moses can never perish. The great principles
of righteousness which he lived to establish are eternal....
With Christ in the wilderness wandering, with Christ on the mount of
transfiguration, with Christ in the heavenly courts—his was a life on earth
blessing and blessed, and in heaven honored.
Paul also in his manifold labors was upheld by the sustaining power of His
presence. “I can do all things,” he said, “through Christ which strengtheneth
me” (
Philippians 4:13
).... Who can measure the results to the world of Paul’s
lifework? Of all those beneficent influences that alleviate suffering, that
comfort sorrow, that restrain evil, that uplift life from the selfish and the
sensual, and glorify it with the hope of immortality, how much is due to the
labors of Paul and his fellow workers, as with the gospel of the Son of God
they made their unnoticed journey from Asia to the shores of Europe?
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