Conclusion
The end of all of us is death. No one can escape death. So we have to think and rethink about our own death. In order to do this, we must prefer going to funerals than weddings. And when we go to the funeral, we should not only think about our own death, but also we should think about how we're going to live and will end our lives well while we're still alive. And we should seriously consider what kind of death of a saint that is precious and beautiful in the sight of God, even through the death of loved ones.
In order for us to face the death of the saint that is precious and beautiful in the sight of God, we must have the death perspective. And with that death perspective, we must learn from the Bible what we should live for and how we should live during the days God has given each of us to live in this world. We must live according to the Lord’s calling that the Lord has given to each of us, with a firm belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Of course, when we live according to the Lord’s calling, there will be no shortage of suffering and adversity. However, like the Apostle Paul, we should value the Lord’s calling more than our lives. And in fulfilling that mission, we should be willing to die, hoping for the glory that will be given to us in the face of adversity and hardship, and work hard and faithfully. Then, like King Hezekiah, we may become ill. At that time, as we deeply experience our human frailty and depend more and more on God in prayers, if God extends our life, we should have a more death perspective and live our lives only for the Lord with the sense of His calling. We must become the grain of wheat burning with a sense of His calling. Sacrifice will inevitably follow. But as we accept even that sacrifice as God's grace, we must earnestly pray for the fragrance of Jesus Christ to be manifested and the glory of God to be revealed even through our death.
As those who have the hope of the resurrection, we must live a life that honors Jesus Christ only until the day the Lord calls us while giving thanks to God at the crossroads of life and death. Before we die, we must forgive all whom we should forgive and reconcile with whom we should reconcile. In addition, we must cherish the time given to us and live by loving God and loving our neighbors more and more according to the twofold command of the Lord: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. … Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:37, 39). We should never do anything that we will regret. Realizing that we have only time to truly love, we must live by loving our family, church members, and neighbors more and more with the love of the Lord that is stronger than death. Then, when the Lord comes, we will finish our hard work on this earth and say goodnight to our loved ones, church members, and neighbors, and then we will fall asleep in the arms of the Lord peacefully. I earnestly hope and pray that our Christ-centered life on this earth after we leave this world will be left as beautiful memories for our families, church members, and those around us.