In one of the most amazing declarations in all of the Scriptures, the Apostle Paul here in verse 21 says that, "…to live is Christ and to die is gain." It is amazing because he expresses a fundamental difference between the hope of the believer and the absence of hope for the unbeliever. As John Calvin observes, "He [Paul] declares that it is indifferent to him, and is all one, whether he lives or dies, because, having Christ, he reckons both to be gain. And assuredly it is Christ alone that makes us happy both in death and in life; otherwise, if death is miserable, life is in no degree happier; so that it is difficult to determine whether it is more advantageous to live or to die out of Christ. On the other hand, let Christ be with us, and he will bless our life as well as our death, so that both will be happy and desirable for us." Let us likewise rejoice in the great advantage of comfort both in life and in death. |