I was always quite close to my Uncle Phil, so when he passed away, I grieved deeply. A few days after he was gone, a long-time mutual friend, Dr. Dorothy Jean Furlong, wrote these words to me, "Don't think I'm hard-hearted, but I think sometimes believers need to remember Paul's words 'to die is gain.'" She was referring to a verse in the first chapter of the apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians. The verse says, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (verse 21).