Temporal vs Eternal

What venture results in death 100% of the time?

Life.

Seeing as the inevitable end of life is death anyway, doesn't it make sense to die to all that is temporal so that when we enter the eternal, we're entering life through the door or mask, as it were, of death?

During cell group this week we had this icebreaker called "Fear In A Hat". We wrote down our greatest fears anonymously and put them into a hat. Then the hat was passed around and each one drew out one fear and commented on it.

I wrote "Fear of torture and violent death for my faith", something that has always been the subject of gruesome imaginings. John from Africa drew it out. He read it thoughtfully.

"I dont think this person should be afraid of death", he said. "This is a fear I've never had. There are three things that a person should consider.

The separation of the soul from the body - that is death.
The separation of the body from the world - that is torture.
The separation of the soul from God - that is sin."

Then he said slowly, "The first one, the separation of the soul from the body, I don't fear it because we know where we're going, we know that we've got a place in heaven. So I don't fear it. The second one, the separation of the body from the world, I don't fear it because that is just momentary. I fear the third one because the separation of the soul from God is horrible...

I don't fear pain or violent death because I believe that you don't feel anything at that instant. I have been hit by a car before and seriously I didn't feel anything. I just felt "bam" and the next moment I woke up on the hospital bed. So I don't think this person needs to fear. We should expect persecution anyway, whatever form it takes. So if this person is expecting a trouble-free life then I am sorry. But the worst thing to fear is the separation of the soul from God."

Thank You for comforting me on this. Let me live life day by day for You and not worry about the future.