Many people cling very tightly to life. They refuse to let go of it, and hold onto a shred of life beyond all reasonable expectations. And then there are others.

There was an old man, lying in the bed in the back bedroom, surrounded by his wife, daughter, and his four granddaughters. His breath was coming slowly, almost in sighs, and the time between the sighs was stretching to longer and longer periods.

Finally, when the silence had stretched to an unbearable length, the youngest granddaughter threw herself on the bed and cried, "Oh, Grandpa, Grandpa. Don't leave us," and then she began to cry loudly.

Her grandfather slowly moved his hand to pat her arm, then took a deep breath and said, "Let me go. It's peaceful there."

Many people are very much like the youngest granddaughter, clinging to life and expecting everyone else to cling just as strongly as she does. As people get older, some grow to be more like the old man, welcoming death as an end to the struggles and pains of this life. Some few even pray that they will be released into death.

This attitude is sometimes difficult to cope with, even if it is possible to understand the situation of someone who seems to be nearing the end of their life, praying for a quick end to the struggle and pain. What is very difficult is to grasp what Paul is saying in the first sentence of today's lesson. "For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain."

Even though this letter was written while he was in prison, Paul's experience there did not lead him to despair and hope for death. In fact, just a few verses before this lesson, Paul is rejoicing at the opportunity he has been given to speak to his guards, members of the elite imperial guards, and to convert them to following Christ. Clearly he is not wishing for death as a release from a terrible present situation. Paul's attitude is worthy of our attention for at least two reasons.

First, Paul is seriously saying that he views death as something to be sought, something desirable, something he longed for. Not because the current situation was intolerable, but because he viewed death as the way in which he could "be with Christ."

Paul, as a man in middle age, at the height of his abilities, is imprisoned, but not defeated, or despondent, or suicidal. He is engaged in preaching to his guards and writing to the congregations with which he has been involved before this time. And yet, he is able to say, "My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better."

It is possible that Paul has an understanding of something that we find hard to follow. This life is something most people hold onto very firmly, only reluctantly submitting to the end of it, and often struggling mightily to hold on to it. But Paul writes that he honestly wishes to depart this life and be with Christ.

Should we view this statement as an example of Paul's unwavering faith in Jesus? Certainly. It is a stunning example of the depth of his faith and how that faith informed Paul's actions. He viewed this life as something that was suited only for doing the work of the church, as something that could be sacrificed easily, as the end result of that sacrifice would be to his gain. This life is something that might be nice, or comfortable, or full of opportunities to serve Christ, but it is something that also keeps us away from Jesus.

While Paul finds it necessary to remain in the flesh, to stay alive for the moment, he regards it as far better to be able to live with Christ, in other words, to die. Paul's attitude toward death is something that most Christians find difficult to accept. Our difficulty is sometimes used as an accusation that our faith isn't strong enough, certainly not as strong as Paul's faith was.

The accusation is, in large part, unfair and often untrue as well. It is unfair because we don't often hear much about the Christian attitude toward this life. And Christians, starting with the disciples and Paul, frequently seem to have put up with this life, but consistently looked forward expectantly to life with Christ. The goal is not a long life, or a full life, or a complete life. The Christian goal in this life is to live a faithful life, which is a prelude to our promised life with Christ.

And that faithful life can be understood as the second part of Paul's attitude that is important for us. In his imprisonment, Paul did not complain about his inability to do anything at the moment, and he did not whine about what he could be doing if only he was free. Paul found himself imprisoned. At that time, imprisonment meant that he was chained to two guards at a time in four hour stretches. Rather than complain about the situation, Paul began telling his guards about the good news.

This is like the story about a missionary who spoke to a congregation about the work being accomplished in remote mission fields. After the worship a gentleman approached the missionary and said he was sorry he couldn't go proclaim the gospel in a remote field, but he had a family to support.

The missionary allowed the man to explain his situation, and finally it came out that the man was the engineer of a train. The missionary smiled and asked, "And what about your fireman? Is he a Christian?"

What about your fireman? Tell him the good news of Christ. What about the men chained to you, who hold you in captivity? Paul's answer was to proclaim the good news to them, and he began to convert his guards to Christ.

And what about us? We hear of the rapid growth of the Christian church in Africa, and the slow, but steady growth in Asia, and the great difficulties faced in many other parts of the world, and we sometimes think there is little or nothing we can do where we are. A contribution to a mission appeal, perhaps, but nothing really substantive.

What about the people who work next to us? What about our friends? What about the people around us? It is sadly and deeply ironic that in America, a country which is often described as a Christian country, there are thousands of people who have no church home. But it is even sadder and more ironic that we work with these people every day and make little effort to tell them about the good news of Jesus.

Many people are somewhat embarrassed by hearing that they are expected to proclaim the good news to the people around them. But consider what Paul wrote in this lesson. "Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents."

How can we proclaim? How can we tell people? Paul's answer is really quite simple, and hardly involves any words, at least at first. In fact, Paul's answer is so painfully simple, it is almost embarrassing. "Live your life in a manner worthy of Christ." Our proclamation is centered on our very life, our actions that are worthy of Christ. Not, to be sure, that this is an easy thing. But it is the way we are called to proclaim the good news. We are called to proclaim God's love to the world around us by the way we live out that love.

There are many excuses that are offered for why we don't always carry out this idea, but all those things are only excuses, not reasons why we are unable to do what we should be doing. It is easy to be intimidated and it isn't always easy to proclaim the good news. In fact, it is quite difficult and often a struggle. And Paul knew that, too. "For God has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well - since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have."

This is not a matter of having someone who has never faced the situation telling us what we should be about, because Paul is no ivory tower theorist. He has spent the few months before writing the words of our lesson, talking daily with his guards in prison, and telling them about the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul has been struggling for many years, and all those who hear his words know of those struggles. Paul reminds them of the way they, and we, have been granted the privilege of suffering for Christ.

This is perhaps the part of this lesson with which it is the most difficult to cope. We rarely even think in these terms. Who ever tries to convince people that suffering is a privilege? Suffering is suffering; something we generally would prefer not to have to face, certainly something we would rather not find very much of in our lives. Suffering, after all, is what we want to relieve. We certainly do not want to go out and seek suffering as a normal daily activity. At the least, people who do seek out suffering on a daily basis are generally regarded as having significant problems. But Paul recognizes that suffering is a natural part of the struggle all Christians share.

In many ways this lesson seems to present us with a rather bleak picture. Paul begins by pointing out that dying is gain. Then he points out, both in the words he uses and in the example of his own life, that we are called to spread the good news where we find ourselves. Our mission is where we are. Finally, he points out that one result of that mission is going to be suffering and struggle.

If Paul stopped there, his efforts would certainly not involve much of a promise for us. But he slips in a reminder of the promise when he says, "For God has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ.

" The privilege ... of believing in Christ. That is certainly not the way the idea is often expressed, but it is a reminder of the promise we have, the promise we share with Paul and with Christians throughout the ages: The promise that we have the privilege of believing in Christ; the promise that because we believe, we share Paul's perspective that dying is gain, for then we will be with Christ, and that is far better, for Paul and for us, than what we face in this life; the promise that we are saved and assured a place with Christ for all eternity. Amen.