“My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” (Philippians 1:23)
At first glance, Paul’s words seem to fit in with the statements we read earlier from Job, Jonah, Elijah, and David. He longs to “depart,” to die. Yet there is a significant difference. Paul does not long for death out of despair, frustration, sadness, or exhaustion. On the contrary. In another letter, he writes about his desire to die: “We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).
Paul does not long for death, but for life after death. For him, dying is “gain” (Philippians 1:21) because then he will come home to Christ. That is his greatest desire. Here on earth, he longs for his real, permanent home with God. In Paul’s opinion, life is good, but eternal life is better.
Paul’s desire for life without end is shared by countless other believers throughout the centuries. Stuart Townend sings about it:
I long to be where the praise is never-ending,
Yearn to dwell where the glory never fades;
Where countless worshippers will share one song,
And cries of ‘worthy’ will honour the Lamb!1
Do these words resonate with you? How do you experience your life here on earth, and what do you expect from life after death?
- The song by Stuart Townend is called “All my days [Beautiful Saviour]”. Copyright © 1998 Thankyou Music. ↩︎