As you know, my Ruthie's cancer is attacking her bone structure., I have diabetes and cirrhosis in the liver and other things, my mother had an stroke and can not speak, my boss’s dear wife just die of cancer, the little girl of my friend is battling cancer in her last stages, my praying friend's sister's cancer is now in her kidneys, lungs and bones, my own sister is developing a fast scoliosis that is deforming he body , my daughter just had a surgery to remove her gall bladder, my son had a knee surgery and my daughter in law had a biopsy and tomorrow we go to Ayacucho for the monthly treatment to stop Ruthie’s bone cancer and I am going to preach Sunday that death is gain.! I am feeling like Anne Graham Lutz wanting to say “Just give Jesus”.

“To die is gain?” Who said that?

'Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we shall all die.'  'We only live once you know, may as well enjoy all we can while we can.'  'All that we take when we die is that which we have eaten and drank.'  'He who has more toys when he dies wins.'  'Death is the end of all things.' 'Heaven and Hell are the fruit of men's fears.'

Words such as these are what men fabricate to deceive themselves and others in the world of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. They go even as far as creating gods after their own image such as Bacchus (the god of wine and revelry), Aphrodite (the goddess of love and beauty), and Morpheus (the god of dreams). These men are the follower of Epicure who sought freedom from pain and emotional disturbance and rejected the belief in the afterlife or the influence of gods in human affairs. They were devoted to refine taste, to luxurious living and sensuous pleasure.

These men who see pain and death as evil are in reality enemies of the cross. For they persuade weak-kneed people with their hedonistic ethical doctrine that only what is pleasant or has pleasant consequences is intrinsically good.

This philosophical view of life generates a psychological doctrine that behavior is motivated by the desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain. The natural consequence of this line of reasoning leads to the rejection of the cross, pain, suffering and death as equally evil against men's welfare on earth.

This kind of thinking is the dark background that made the words of Paul sound extremely new and revolutionary:  'FOR TO ME, TO LIVE IS CHRIST AND TO DIE IS GAIN'

How could he say such thing?

How dare he say such a thing?

What a cruel words to a dying world!

Is Paul out of his mind?

Never was Paul more in his right mind than when he said these amazing words. Paul had discovered in death the gate way to heaven. He saw death as the Jordan River which is necessary to cross in order to enter the Promised Land. Paul came to know death as a friend and as a foe. Death is a friend of the believer; like a servant, it ushers him at the order of his master and leads him to the loving presence of his waiting father. But death is a foe to the unbeliever; like one who uproots and cuts him off from the land of the living and drags him to court into the presence of an angry judge ready to sentence him for perpetual chain and torment.

Yes, Paul could say;  ' Death is Gain',  because he came to know that we are born to die and we are born again to live. He knew that Jesus died and resurrected so we also could die, only to resurrect. He knew that death has no dominion over us. Only through death we can meet Jesus again

And since the victory of Jesus on the cross, a believer, along with Stephen, has learned to die gloriously, because Death is still gain.

The Rev. James M. Boice, pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, when seriously sick before his death said: 'Pray that I may be a witness by death or by life.' Jesus was not ashamed to be called his God. So He called him home to Himself, because the servant was ready to meet his Master. “Precious in the sight of God is the death of His saints”.

Jesus' supreme hour was His last. From the cross He witnessed the loudest and taught us how to die. Jesus' voice has echoed through the centuries for saints to hear and to smile at death, for, Death is still gain because of Jesus.

We need not to flee or hide. His loving and strong hands on our hands will secure our way home. Fear only tells us that we have lived too long on this old world where the dust of doubts is creeping up to our legs. Wash our feet, dear Lord and forgive us for when we are afraid, we are forgetting the child-like trust that makes our eyes close in peace. Above all fear is the fear of failing you, dear Jesus. The fear of dropping the cross that you have entrusted to us. May the fear of the waves and the storms never be greater than our trust in your power and name.

Far be it from us those fears that don't belong to us. May the fear of the Lord be great enough that there will be no fear left for anyone but God. We are your servants. We belong to you. Save us for the sake of your own Name.

We have seen thousands of days. We have seen beauty, but our hearts are set on perfection. Take us by the hand to where you live, perfect Father.

It is not an honorable thing for a believer to fret. Why believe in the Sovereignty of God but act as if fate and chance rules our lives.

Isn’t it true that “it is established for a man to die once and after that the Judgment?”

Doesn’t that mean that there is an appointment set in heaven for each man with His Maker that no one can push forwards or backwards that meeting?

Isn’t it truth the blessed assurance and our inheritance to those who believe rest in the doctrines of Election and Predestination?

Isn’t it great that He is the blessed controller of all things?

Is stretching life on Earth at any cost full of trials and tribulations better that going home to our already standing Lord waiting to welcome us with open arms?

It will be victory for the evil one if we forget that God is our heavenly father and a father does not play with the life of his little ones. If God has allowed trials in our lives, he has His reasons and we must not waste the opportunity to grow in the knowledge of the Holy One and his mind for our lives.

If God would have wanted to take us, He would have done it so already. There are no angels to stop the hand of the true Abraham. He must prevail. If we find ourselves resisting his perfect will; we are to be against ourselves on this for our own good.

Trials can be the very arms of God bringing us in a hug closer to Him. Sometimes when we weep our tears make our vision blurry. When we are hurting and tired, our eye sight is not 20/20. But our maker and shepherd does not sleep or slumber nor is He far nor absent. His eyes do not close like ours. In fact His eyes are over the righteous and his ears attentive to our prayers.

When in trial we will hold more tightly the cape that Jesus bought for us with his blood. We will not let the wind blow it away to win his bet with the sun (ESOPs). He who is with us is greater that the one who is in the world. Who can resist His mighty hand, oh beloved of God. Some are being called home, and others are being cut off and uprooted from the land of the living. But as for us, let us call trials, doctors, nurses and retirement centers 'Finishing Schools' that are preparing us in 'manners' for the courts of our King in His Kingdom.

Besides, there is no place in the whole Universe, where we will be better cared for, than in the house of God and on the lap of Father Abraham, "who is God's favorite baby sitter" as he was for Lazarus. There, God Himself will wipe away every tear and comfort every sufferer.

As for me, I pray that my eyes should not close until I see His glorious return. But death is still gain!  For us death if it comes and the Lord tarries; it will be only a twinkling of an eye.

In surrender and trust, praying for you and praying for myself my dear friends.

Gerry Gutierrez
Huanta
May 7, 2008

P.S. I found the following story very fitting to our theme.

HOW REAL HOLINESS CAME “One of the saintliest ministers in our Free Church once told me the story of his sanctification. They had a child, an only child, and God was pleased to let it sicken till it was near death. There was no hope, and the father’s and mother’s hearts rebelled, and they cried that this was hard. But only for a little. Their trust in God was in eclipse, not quenched. “Wife”, said the husband, “we must not let God take our child, we must give him”. So, kneeling down beside the bed together, they humbly gave to God again what he had lent them for a little space. Death came, a stranger to that home, and knocked. And in the fragrance of two consecrated lives, never a man or child in their entire parish but knew they entertained an angel unawares.”
                                        Flood Tide by G. H. Morrison

Gerry and Ruthie Gutierrez