Gerhard and Walther

For God gives us natural life so that we through it should contemplate the spiritual and eternal life. And without such spiritual life, natural life is to be regarded merely as a death more than a life.—Johann Gerhard, Schola Pietatis, I:45. 

The faithful Christian knows what sin is. When he was converted to Christ, he recognized that sin is a horrible offense to God. He experienced the torment of conscience on account of his sin and he understood that sin separated him from God, stirring up his wrath. No man can atone for his own sins, and for that reason God’s Son had to die on the cross. The faithful Christian has also learned that the whole world, with all its glory, cannot make anyone happy, cannot provide peace and rest, and cannot offer comfort in a time of trouble. God alone, with His grace and His communion, is the highest good of man.—C. F. W. Walther, God Grant It!, p. 19.