I will try a bit more. I am putting words to something which starts much deeper than words, deeper than the part of man which is capable of word-making. I am speaking of a weariness that comes not from the muscles, nor from the mind, but from the soul. If the muscles grow tired of working, and the mind grows tired of thinking, then the soul can only grow tired of living. Then the soul will seek to turn off the Light, to lie down, and to Sleep. And if the soul is weary, where will it find rest but in Sleep?

But sleep is for the end of the journey. We will not do well to tell the weary traveler, “Depart this world; depart, Life and Light are on the other side. Take your rest now, Traveler, and awake refresh. Depart, your answer lies on the other side.” There is a thread of truth in this, but also a warp and woof of deception.

I have not learned a better way to show the deceit in this darkling whisper except to say this: Christ came to us. His promise is to return to us, where we are. He does not call us to Heaven but to the cross.

[…]
The Christian hope is anchored in the future, but its motion is toward the present. When you have suffered with someone, you will have done twice the Christian work as when you have told him about heaven. […] Here, here in this suffering, here with the suffering, is the work of Christ, the mystery of creation, the miracle of redemption. To anchor yourself in the present experience as a reference and move toward the future in exploration is backwards to Christ, who always had his anchor in the future and his work at hand.

From comments on Noise of Creation (private correspondence, not web-published comments).