What is life about? St Paul's answer here is courage. He and his friends who are convinced of their eternal destiny with God live with great courage. Nothing that matters can be taken from them. Everything that matters has been and will be given to them. They experience the promise as a guaranteed certainty.
"Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (NIV - 2 Corinthians 5:6-10)
Love is essential and that's about being patient. Love actively waits for others without resentment. This would include being patient in the face of being hurt or mistreated. Love is kindness. Beyond mere politeness, kindness involves acting for the good of others even when it does not benefit ourselves
"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
Amen. It discusses the Christian's perspective on life and death, and encourages believers to live with purpose and integrity, knowing that one day, we'll stand before Christ to give an account of ourselves.
