dying is even better

Today in the One Year Bible, we actually read my favorite verse in the whole Bible! It's in Philippians 1:1-26. It's verse 21, which says "for to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." In the New Living Translation, it says, "For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better."

It's not always easy to keep an eternal perspective, right? It's easy to fall into self pity or jealousy or despair. But when we take the long view, we see that everything we do in this life either benefits Jesus and our relationship with Him, or it doesn't. So we want to focus on doing more of the things that DO benefit that relationship.

And death SEEMS like a terrible, inexorable thing that will come and destroy all of us. But when we learn to see it as going home to God, we realize that "to die is even better." That's why St Therese of Liseux told her mom that she hoped she would die soon (which she did, actually.) Because Therese saw what we should hope and strive to see - that to die is even better.

God, thanks for showing us the long view.