"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
The Apostle Paul's words here are highly-illuminating to us in the church today. Christ is to be our life. If anything else holds that place, we are practicing idolatry. If we could come to understand the nature of all things, we would clearly see that Jesus is the end all of every-
thing. Without Him, life is basically boring and mundane. With Him, everything makes sense; and life is exciting.
For the redeemed Christian dying is an added bonus. Instead of it tak-
ing anything away from us--we simply get a nearer and clearer vision of Christ. In this regard, the true churchman has it made. As we live here, we have Jesus; as we die--we only get a more intimate walk with Him.
[Puritan quote of the day: "There is no greater sign of a rotten heart than a fundamental unsteadfastness in the covenant of God." --Rich-
ard Steele, in, "The Character of an Upright Man"]
