He fell asleep...

"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep" Acts 13:36

All of life comes down to just one thing, thats to know you owe Jesus and to make you known. The cross of Christ brings incredible freedom to believers. He died that we to may crucify our flesh and in dying truly live. After all he came that we may have life and have it abundantly. Thus, while on this earth his grace and mercy reign in us, in that though we outwardly are perishing we are being prepared for an eternal glory beyond all comparison. But if one has a small view of heaven he will miss out on the glorious end/beginning to which he has been ultimately destined. The bible is clear, the glorious existence of heaven will far outweigh anything that this life has ever had to offer. All sin and death will be eradicated and man will be restored from his body of death into one of everlasting life. Paul continually harped on the idea that this life is but a shadow of the one to come, (Heb 9), that it is far better to be away from this body and at home with Christ, (2cor5), and that to die is nothing less to gain (the opposite for unbelievers of course, where to die is loss, the ultimate, immeasurable, and unceasing loss). The immeasurable riches that are to be revealed are beyond us (who hope in Jesus), truly "no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him (1 cor 6). David also declared this idea in stating that "one thing I ask, and all that I seek, is that I may gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and behold him in his temple"(Ps. 27:4). The eternal glory of heaven far surpasses all understanding that one could possibly imagine and makes every thing, even that which are good things, pale in such a way that Paul proclaims they are not even worth comparing (2cor4). Thus Jim Elliot was right "he is no fool who gives that which he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose." The idea of offering our bodies as a living sacrifice is such a minute and miniscule sacrifice when compared to the eternal blessing that Christ has gone to prepare for those who love him. In view of this God who became poor so that in his poverty we might become rich beyond all comparison is a moving, motivating, humbling, and beautiful thing. There is nothing foolish about giving the life that all of us will soon lose, to gain that which can never be lost. Paul knew that to live is Christ and to die is to gain...to gain. That word hardly begins to describe that which awaits us who place our hope in him. But words of any demeanor and in any earthly tongue will never begin to encapsulate that which he has given us. For this reason it is not foolish to lose your life that you may gain it. "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20:24). The entire purpose of man, why you remain alive is that you may know God and make him known, and in doing so bring praise and glory to his name. My life is of no value and has no reason apart from me finishing the race he has set before me and declaring his name with every breath and fiber of my being. This is the entire purpose of mankind. No matter if you believe the gospel or not, and with this in mind, I long for heaven to put off this earthly body and put on the heavenly one. I long for that as Luke recorded of King David in Acts 13, for that day, when I have served the purpose of God in my life, I may fall asleep and awaken to the marvelous light he has destined me for...oh what a glorious Day. But for now, with all my might I will strive with all my might "that he powerfully work within me" to make the end of all that I do exemplify that to "Live is Christ". Until he calls me home...