If heaven is our true homeland, what can the earth be but a place of exile? If departing from this world is entering into life, then the world is but a tomb, and residing in it is being immersed in death. If being freed from the body is gaining true freedom, then the body itself is a prison. If the ultimate happiness lies in the presence of God, then how miserable is life without it? Yet, while we are still in this earthly body, we are absent from the Lord. Therefore, when we compare the earthly life to the heavenly life, it can be truly despised and trampled underfoot. However, we should never hate it except insofar as it keeps us enslaved to sin. And even in this hatred, we should not direct it towards life itself. Nevertheless, we should approach it with weariness or disdain, longing for its end and being ready to continue in it according to the will of the Lord, keeping far from murmuring and impatience. It is as if the Lord has assigned us a post, which we must faithfully maintain until He calls us back.
John Calvin. On the Christian Life.
