This of course was Paul's statement in his letter to the Philippians (Php 1:21), where he stated that if he goes on living it will mean fruitful labour in bringing people to Christ. But he then states: "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far" (v23).

Paul of course meant that while his work for the gospel on earth was very beneficial now, he would much rather be with Christ in heaven. That should be the goal of any Christian - we should consider our work here to be important for the gospel, but our desire should be to spend eternity with God. The joys of heaven will definately outway any enjoyment we can have in this life. As it says in 1 Co 2:9:


However, I find this very difficult myself. While I understand that heaven will be an amazing place, and to be in the presence of God for eternity is the best thing possible, I find it very hard to adopt the same view as Paul and basically say that I am ready to die and be with Christ.

I am enjoying my life!

Perhaps as I get older I may feel more like Paul did in that letter, but at the moment, while I know I will enjoy heaven, I'm not quite ready for it yet.

As I am still here, I presume God agrees with me on this one.

Posted by Dave Bryant at 3:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)