We’ve often heard it said. No pain, no gain.

There is an element in life that could be called “gain.”

Gain is what we “gain” from the experience.

There is no equivalent for gain. It is something that we earn, strive for, and becomes the focus of our energies. What we gain or hope to gain is in relationship to a mission tied to self. Self wants the gain, or access to the gain. Some gain is sought after, other gain is given to us.

We gain experience through a myriad of ways. We gain security through hard work, effort, and assistance from others. A gain is a triumph over deficit.

At times, we gain out of the giving we receive from another source, out of their storehouse of multiplied gains; from people or organizations who give because they have it to give in excess amounts. Their gain becomes our gain.

Most of all, we gain much when we realize that all gain is useless unless it is offered as a gift to God. In this scenario for giving out of our gain, we internalize a humble fullness, it becomes not of us but of God. 

God redirects our gain into a trajectory that will yield gain for His kingdom. That is the greatest gain we can experience in life, the goodness our gain increases seven-fold and then some.

Gain is a blessed gift to humankind.