Suffering
Jesus doesn't say if you repent, you will not perish.
At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them-- do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did." Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ’see here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He replied, ’sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'" - Luke 13:1-9
He does make it sound like God will strike you down if you don't produce, which is the message of the parable, but he doesn't say that repentance is a way to avoid death.
In the long run, it is. We are offered eternal life, but because of God's grace, we may get that even if we don't repent, right?
So, what is there to gain?
Having watched someone I love dearly suffer before her death, I don't think we avoid suffering altogether. But with God's help, we power through it.
Suffering sucks.
Suppose we had a choice. We can die quickly without suffering or we can have more time with the ones we love and bear the pain.
Some people have this choice.
Like the fig tree that is starving and dying, we all need comfort, support, and nourishment. We need love. No one can deal with suffering without love.
Our purpose in life, I think, is to be God's love for those who need it.
We can do that, can't we?
We will all perish. It is not how we die that matters, but how we live.
More to come...