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hilippians
1:23-24, "For I am in a strait betwixt
two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ;
which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the
flesh is more needful for you."
This morning, the thoughts of heaven and immortal
glory have immersed our thinking. While we cannot be
"so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly value,"
it does the children of God good from time to time to
ponder things of a nobler and more heavenly plane.
During these periods of looking beyond this vale of
tears, we sometimes get to the place of yearning for
the moment to be now when we depart and see Christ in
perfect glory and satisfaction. Yet, we still recall
to mind the thought that abiding in the flesh means
that we need to be labouring and tending the fields
that our Lord has commanded us to keep. Let us look,
for a moment, at some of the most comforting phrases
in Scripture that dispel the dark clouds of heretical
thinking as it pertains to the afterlife.
The most comforting phrase (to me) of this couplet
of verses is the thought "to depart, and to be with
Christ." When we consider the thought that Paul is
espousing here, we can look with boldness to the day
that we are called home. We can stare at death
without fear or dread, for the things that we follow
after by faith transcend this land and go beyond to
the city to which we are going. Should the immediate
departure of our soul and spirit be in question to the
least degree, Paul could not have asserted the sure
certainty of being with Christ at that moment. The
fact that our departure brings us immediately to Him
indicates two very important things.
The first thing that this bears out is that our Lord
is risen indeed! Should the body of our Saviour still
be in the ground somewhere in Joseph's borrowed tomb,
we could only be with Christ at death should our body
be buried with His. Indeed, the thought is most
ridiculous to comprehend as we are buried in different
places and at different times. Therefore, the
resurrection of our Redeemer must be understood if we
are to see Him at the moment of our own death.
Without this most blessed point and hope in our lives,
we could not look at death with calm and assurance of
a better country. With this most blessed knowledge,
we can certainly say, "Oh how sweet to die!"
The next thing that the phrase brings to reflection
is that the body ONLY lies in the dust awaiting the
return of our victorious King. Recall the words ofKing David as he mourned for a son (unnamed) that was
stricken with a sickness due to David's disobedience.
When the child died, David arose, worshipped, changed
his raiment, washed, and ate. The servants were
astonished at his behaviour, and David's reply was, "I
shall go to him." Once death has taken a loved one
from our presence and fellowship, we should not pray
that they be brought back, but rather, we should
earnestly anticipate the day of joining them in that most blessed place called . Should David have
thought that his son was going to the ground in more
than the body, there would be no reason for him to
utter such a statement about joining him. There would
be no hope and consolation in the thought that we are
gathered to our people in burial. We are gathered to
our people in the immediate departure of soul and
spirit to God in perfect majesty.
These two thoughts bring true rest and peace in the
face of the icy hand of death. One can easily sorrow
as others which have no hope should they not be
cognizant of these thoughts that Paul brings to bear.
In the second epistle to the Corinthians, Paul makes
it quite clear that there is a direct correlation
between the Lord's presence and the body. If we are
with one, we are not with the other. So, being absent
from the body makes us present with the Lord, and
conversely, being at home in the body makes us absent
from the Lord. (II Corinthians 5:1-9) There is no
comfort at all to be drawn from the thought of our
consciousness being asleep until the Lord's coming.
There is great comfort drawn from the Biblical fact of
loved ones gone before being present (right now) with
the Lord in heaven.
Looking at these most comforting thoughts (of which
I can find none better), what is left for us here?
Paul desired this previous state, and I do not for a
moment believe him to have been suicidal. Rather, his chief joy was to see His
Lord's face in righteousness.
What is left for us here is the service to Him and to
His people. Paul stated that there was need for him
now in the flesh. While the Lord could have chosen
any particular man that suited Him to do the work Paul
did, He told Ananias that Paul (then Saul of Tarsus)
was a "chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before
the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
For I will shew him how great things he must suffer
for my name's sake." (Acts 9:15-16)
For the wonderful work that the Lord called Paul to
do, there was still need for his ministry to continue.
Now, inevitably, the question arises, "Does this line
of thought indicate that we all have an appointed time
to die?" While there can be no question that the One
that knows all things does know when we will die, it
would be patently foolish to say that it has been
fixed or appointed by Him in such a way. Should that
line of thought be true, murderers could charge God
with their murder. Abortionists are just doing the
will of God. And the prayer of a righteous man to
extend the life of a loved one is vain and
meaningless. Blasphemies of the worst degree are
these! Rather, Paul is stating something quite the
opposite.
Paul's thought of it being more needful to remain in
the flesh is simply this: while there is life and
breath in our being, we need to put it to the best use
we can in God's service. Men sometimes say, "Well, I
can't do anything anymore." If we still have our mind and energy, we can still minister to those around us
"how great things the Lord has done for us." If we
have the breath to say, "Come and see," then we can
still invite those to attend in God's house. Recall
to mind what secular historians have told us about the
end of the life of the Apostle John. During the last
period of his life, he was bed-ridden and had not much
stamina. Brethren from the church would carry him in
his bed to the place of meeting, and many times, the
brethren would ask him to speak if he was able.
Propping himself up in his bed, he would give
exhortations like, "Children love one another." John
was still at home in the body of flesh, and there was
still some need that the Lord blessed him to serve and
minister unto. Let us, therefore, never retire from
the Lord's service until the sweet moment that we lay
down in death, our warfare and bondage is over, and
the blessed face of our Saviour welcomes us to the
grand and matchless place that we call Home.
In Hope,
Bro Philip |