worth thy while to dismiss
them from command of thee, for they will never be of so much use as
when they thus stimulate kind and gentle deeds. It is thus that thou
wilt "find in loss a gain to match," and rise on "stepping stones of
your dead self to higher things."

III. So, too, it is worth our while to forget our so-called successes
and our earthly reverses by absorption in those ends of living which
Christ has taught us to be really good and great. It was in this sense
particularly that St. Paul used our text. The things which he forgot
were his noble Jewish birth, his upright training, his successes and
honors in the eyes of his fellow-countrymen. Not even a Roman was
prouder of his birth than a Jew was of his. Before that young Jew of
Tarsus high honors rose, ready almost to lay themselves at his feet. He
attained the highest culture which his master Gamaliel could give him.
The way was open for him to become a noted man in his nation, a leader
in Church and State. He valued these things. He did not toss them from
him without an effort, but he did toss them from him. In the sense in
which I have explained it, he forgot them: "What things were gain to
me, these have I counted loss for Christ." That he might follow the
truth and serve the Lord, he turned his mind away from all the honor
and gain which the Jewish world could offer him. He did so absolutely.
He did not let his mind dwell on the sacrifice which he had made. He
did not repine over his loss. He cheerfully and joyfully pursued his
way of Christian service, and never allowed himself to be deterred in
it for a moment by any thought of the sacrifices which he had made,
rightly thinking that nothing that the whole world could give him was
worth comparison with the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus.

Now, certainly it is harder for us to forget the glittering prizes
which the world offers us than anything else. It is hard to persuade
ourselves that they are really behind us; that we have left them in the
rear and gone on by them to something greater and better. They absorb
the energy of most of us, these imaginary piles of glittering dollars
that we think we see one day ours, these famous honors in professional
or public life that we hope one day to have. They are the corruptible
crowns for which the majority of men are striving, and which fill the
souls of millions with selfish and sordid thoughts. But let the light
in on these earthly prize