It is possible for us to anticipate death with the gladness of school children when a day's classes are over. An unknown poet has written:

Someday the bell will sound,
Someday my heart will bound
As with a shout, that school is out,
And, lessons done, I homeward run.
It's a rare believer, though, who joyfully welcomes death. No doubt we may long to die if we are painfully and incurably sick, or if we are old, alone, and unable to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Otherwise, though, we cling to life with a God-given instinct of self-preservation.
The Bible tells us that Jesus came to give us an abundant life here and now, as well as hereafter (John 10:10,28). And we can gladly recognize that God "gives us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Timothy 6:17).

Yet, we would be wise to balance our love for life with the truth reflected in the words of an old song: "This world is not my home." And indeed it isn't. We are aliens, pilgrims, and sojourners for a few fleeting years.

So, whether death seems far away or close at hand, we can be confident that if our faith is in the risen Christ we will leave this world to enter heaven's glory (2 Corinthians 5:8). One glad day we will be heading home.  — Vernon C. Grounds