running a race.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? run in such a way as to get the prize. everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. they do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. therefore i do not run like a man running aimlessly; i do not fight like a man beating the air. no, i beat my body and make it my slave so that after i have preached to others, i myself will not be disqualified for the prize" (1 cor. 9:44- 27).

"to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die" (Ecc. 3:1-2).

"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21).