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The third verse of the hymn "O Sacred Head Now Wounded" ends with a wishful confession, "Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to thee." The writer would rather die than live without loving God. I certainly do not have this kind of devotion, but the logic behind it is clear. If Christ alone is our greatest inheritance and the living water that satisfies, then a life without him would be a miserable one. Put more acutely, a life without love for God, that is, a life void of sacrifices made in pursuit of closeness with God, is worse than death.
It's a difficult truth but a truth nevertheless. Yet where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. I hope that the perfector of my faith will see the amount of sin in my heart and give me all the grace I need to live true to such a confession.