Philippians
1:23-24 KJV
For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and
to be with Christ; which is far better:
Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
I recently read an article of a young missionary couple
who died in the service of the Lord. Prior to their death he had written
concerning the issue of life and death (as a missionary he apparently
understood his life was in a fragile place). The missions wrote, only four or
five weeks before the death of he and his wife, "there is nothing sad about the death of a Christian. The only sadness
(and I do not intend to belittle this aspect) is in the loss of companionship
by those left behind."[1] We
place far too much value on our lives, certainly more than Christians of
centuries gone by, who willingly died rather than deny Jesus. Today we do about
everything possible rather than die. Very few anymore find themselves in a
strait betwixt heaven and earth. Today there is no question... we choose earth.
I am not advocating for a suicidal or fatalistic
mentality, but the very fact that I feel like I need to give a disclaimer like
this is indicative of the fact that modern Christians are so earthly oriented
that we can't grasp the concept of longing for heaven while still earnestly
living today.
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