Does life justify living?

A story is told of a Pastor attending a beautiful wedding ceremony on the coast of California, a shoreline of sandy coves and pebble beaches. The church was decorated with wildflowers and the sanctuary smelled of cedar and lemon balm.
The bride and groom radiant with love for one another. The reception was held outdoors and the setting was breath taking. The day was perfect.
In the midst of all this, The pastor got into a conversation with a young philosophy student, perhaps in his early twenties, tall and healthy. The young man asked, "do you really believe all that religious stuff"? "I tried your religion for awhile, and found its just a burden to carry", I have come to the conclusion that, "Life justifies living".
The Pastor listened and said, "Good", good for you. I believe you , here today-as you feel the warmth of the breeze and listen the beautiful music, and the laughter of the day., But Im thinking of a friend of mine, his name is Sam. Sam is 44, but looks 64, he's been living on the streets since he was 12. He's a junkie and dying of Aids. the last time I saw Sam he was on a bus back to see his Mother in hopes he could die at home.
And Im thinking about Ernie, a man on the rise in the business world, skilled and ambitious. A superb athlete a natural at any sport. He and his wife just adopted 4 children. He got he news back from his doctor he has terminal cancer, and 3 months to live.
"Yes, im thinking about Sam and Ernie and I have a question about your philosophy, how do I explain to them that life justifies living?"
The young philosophy student had no response, He said, "I'll have to get back to you on that". He never did...
"Because life does not justify living......ETERNITY DOES.