Absent From the Body

Did Paul say that he would bypass the grave and go straight to heaven when he died?

“For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.” Philippians 1:23

Now he's not saying that he thinks that he will be with Christ the moment of his death. Actually he is explaining his desire, which is to leave this present troubled existence and to be with Christ without reference to the lapse of time that may occur between those two events. With the whole strength of his ardent nature, he longed to live with the one whom he had so faithfuly served. You see, Paul knew, as God's servant tells us in Desire of Ages, "To the Christian, death is but a sleep. A moment of silence in darkness, the life is hid with Christ. When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." Paul makes this clear in 1 Corinthians 15:51,52 . He says, "Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, and the dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." We know that trumpet sounds at the second coming of our Lord in the clouds of heaven. And Paul knew that when he fell asleep, for him time would cease and it would only be like the snap of your finger when he would open his eyes and then he would be with Jesus and all his trials and sorrows and struggles would be over. No more weariness, no more pain. Now he's with his beloved Savior forever and ever.

This is what Paul was talking about when he said, "to die is gain." "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." What a beautiful summation of his commitment to Christ, of his whole Christian experience, of his trust and love for his Lord!

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