But one day God’s calendar for each of us will reach its
end. The exact length of our earthly life is established by Him
(Psalm 139:16). That reality was what Paul wrote about from his Roman
imprisonment.
Sensing his departure might be close, he made this amazing
statement: to die is gain (Philippians
1:21). But “to die is gain” doesn’t make any sense unless you remember
what he said immediately before it: For me, to live is Christ…, the subject of
my last post.
Now obviously death is not gain to everyone. To die without
Christ is to lose everything forever. But for us who love Jesus, how is death
gain? Death is gain because…
It gives us one last
witness. We have the opportunity to bring glory to Christ in our death.
That was Paul’s desire: …it
is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that
with full courage now as always Christ
will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death (Phil. 1:20, my emphasis).
It means victory over
sin. In heaven we’ll be able to live without that old, nagging struggle
with our sin nature. We’ll serve the Lord in holiness and innocence and perfection.
We’ll be reunited with Christian family and friends. The older I get, the more people I know
who are already on the other side. God’s
word (Paul again) promises that we who know Christ will be together with them
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord
(1 Thessalonians 4:17b).
We’ll be in Christ’s presence. This is most precious of all, and what
Jesus prayed for us: Father, I desire
that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my
glory…(John 17:24)
The Christian
journey is about learning to live, and to die, in the Lord. "To die is gain"
means the best is yet to come.
I love the old song "I'll Fly Away," and Jars of Clay does one of my favorite versions. Here's the video:
