tradition speaks of the departed loved one as being now in the conscious enjoyment of the

presence of the Lord. What tradition has done is this, it has denied the scriptural doctrine

which teaches that the dead are dead, that the dead sleep until the resurrection, and it has

taken that which is held out as a peculiar and extraordinary privilege, a prize in fact to be

attained with great difficulty and self denial, as the common experience of every saved

own who has fallen asleep in Christ. An axiom of the world says, "The exception proves

the rule." The aspirations and the doubts of the apostle in Phil. 1: and 3: bring before

us an exception; there was a way whereby the resurrection may be brought nearer, the

believer might attain unto the out-resurrection out from among the dead, he might "depart

and be with Christ", which is far better than living or dying.

Another question that is asked in different ways is, "Who can hope to attain to this

height?" And "Did Paul himself reach it?" Knowing something of the awful failure of

the flesh, the entanglements of the world, the ease with which we may do wrong, the

general uncircumcision of our natures, we do not wonder that many say, "All that I can

hope for is that which comes by pure grace, anything that lies beyond that I cannot reach

unto". The humility of mind that speaks thus is precious in the sight of God, and may be

the first step towards the seemingly unattainable. Even Paul, the pattern, depreciated

himself; he wrote, "not as though I had already attained, either were already perfected",

and it might not do either for him or for us to know how far we were along the road, lest

by thinking we stand we bring about a fall. One thing we may be certain about, if we

know our shortcomings and besetting environment, the Lord does too. He has not told us

that we have to reach the standard He has set for another. The outward conformity of one

whose natural temperament never leads him into danger or difficulty may be far greater

than another who has inherited some trying passion, yet in the eyes of the Lord, who

looks upon the heart and tries the reins, who can tell which one is nearer the "conformity

to His death" or which one is experiencing "the body of humiliation"?

A principle upon which the Lord works with regard to the awarding of reward seems

to be contained in the following words, "and unto one He gave five talents, to another

two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability." The three

servants varied in ability and responsibility; he who had five, gained five, and he who had

two, gained two, and both stood exactly upon a level in the eyes of the Lord, for indeed

one hundred per cent gain was true of both; identical words of approval and reward

awaited them. Had the servant whose ability was represented by one talent gained but

one talent, he would have stood as high as the one who gained five. In the days when

"gifts" were common among the churches, the difference in the gift was made

sovereignly by the Spirit, "dividing to every man severally as He will", and no one was

responsible for the use of a gift with which he had not been entrusted, but all were

exhorted that "having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us,

whether prophecy, let us prophecy according to the proportion of faith." Paul must use

Paul's gift up to his measure, or fail of his reward, but neither the writer nor the reader

will be asked to reach Paul's standard; he may have been entrusted with the full five

talents, Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Teacher, and Disciple; you may be but entrusted

with one--the Disciple, "he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful in that which is

much". As to conformity to the death of Christ, fellowship with His sufferings, the