The Unexamined Life

I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of the Lord. The Lord has severely disciplined me but He has not given me over to death - Psalm 118:17-18

In the span of 13 years, my parents and all my siblings were wiped out. The last to go was my brother whom God took 2 days ago. In 1996 when my sister died at the age of 45, I started thinking about my own mortality and it was in that year that I came to learn what it meant to have a personal relationship with Christ. It was the year when I learned that religion will help us get through the day, but it will not get us to the promised land of eternal life.

When the bible spoke of Paul's message to the Philippians while he was in prison, "To live is Christ and to die is gain", Paul meant that as long as we're alive there will be suffering because even Christ suffered while He was on earth. Death is not the end, it is only the beginning; the physical body has to be destroyed in order for the spirit to enter the realm where Christ is. Life or death is not the issue here, but that Christ is magnified in us. As I continue to watch my family slowly but surely leave this earth, I am left with the same question most survivors ask themselves: Why am I still here? There's no easy answer, but it's time to examine my life.