Life and Death

I know I have been remiss in my blogging efforts...alas!

Recently, certain events within the congregation have led me (and others) to reflect upon questions of life and death and pain and suffering. It is at times like this that I am thankful that the Lord placed the book of Job in the Bible. And it is at times like this that I am thankful that the Lord gave us Samuel Rutherford and his Letters.

This morning I was reading in Rutherford's Letters and came across this gem of a sentence:

"It is not long days, but good days, that make life glorious and happy; and our dear Lord is gracious to us, who shorteneth and hath made the way to glory shorter than it was; so that the crown that Noah did fight for five hundred years, children may now obtain it in fifteen years."

In this world, we judge a good life by its length. We say, "It must have been nice for Noah to live so long." Why do we think this way? We have forgotten (or we don't really believe) that heaven is FAR better than this life. Why is it better to struggle with sin, sickness, disease, sorrow, pain, affliction, disaster, etc., for 950 years (or even 70-80 years, for that matter)? We have forgotten (or we don't really believe) Paul's words in Philippians 1:21: "to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (ESV, emphasis added).