To die is gain.. ( Philippians 1 v 21 - 26 )

I wonder how many could from their heart say, to die is gain ?, these words were penned by the apostle Paul ,while a Roman prisoner. (  Philippians 1 v 21 ) The full verse reads ,' for to me to live is Christ,and to die is gain''  The apostle was sold out to Christ,He was his consuming passion,he did not have a death wish, no he loved life,and lived it to the full.He did not want to die, but death is inevitable,for Paul death would mean  being with Christ, which he declares was better by far. It is J .Parker who writes the following on the Christians death. ' We have recast Christianity into a mould that stresses happiness above holiness, blessings here above blessings hereafter;health and wealth as God's best gifts, and death ,especially early death,not as a thank worth deliverance from  the miseries of a sinful world, but as the supreme disaster.......Is our Christianity out of shape ?. Yes it is,and the basic reason is that we have lost the two world perspective that views the next life as more importance than this one, and understands life here as essentially preparation and training for the life here after'.