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We die to Him in order to meet Him: “And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thess 4:17).
Therefore, the one who lives to the Lord is happy to take off this body and put on incorruption, the spiritual and heavenly body (1 Cor 15:44-49). And he will then be always with the Lord. That is what St Paul the Apostle longed for when he said: “... Having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Phil 1:23).. To be with Him in Paradise and in the heavenly Jerusalem, in the Kingdom, according to His true promise. “... where I am, there you may be also” (Jn 14:3).
We die to Him in order to see Him face to face (1 Cor 13:12) .
And as the Apostle said: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known” (1 Cor 13:12).
We die to Him also means that we die for Him.
Just like the martyrs and all those who defended the faith. And also as the Apostle said: “For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us.” (2 Cor 4: 11-12) . Or as the Holy Bible said: “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like His” (Num 23:10)..
Lives according to the principle "If we live. we live to the Lord"
Finally, would that we try to live to the Lord in order to also die to Him.
We try to live to the Lord even for one day like practising " The ideal day" which used to be given to us as youth.. And if we succeed in it, increase it. And we contemplate on the example given by the thief who was on the right hand of the Lord. He lived with the Lord only for hours, then he died with Him and won Paradise. St Baeysa is another example. Her life of repentance was even less than hours and she obtained life... Let us then start to live to the Lord.
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