Heaven Can Wait

Paul tells us he had “…a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better.” No amount of theological juggling can make this text mean anything other than what it says. Being with Christ was preferred over being on earth by the apostle. Not because of his suffering, or that he was disappointed with life, or that he’d given up on sinful humanity; nor was it because of the fact that the old warrior was worn out. His motive was pure and higher than these. The aged saint had such a love for the Lover of his soul that it dwarfed everything else in life.

In a ministry that spans some fifty-four years now, I’ve only met one person who I believed truly wanted what Paul did. He was my best friend, and the Lord called him home at fifty-two years old. Upon hearing of his death, the first thing my wife said was, “Well, he finally got what he always wanted.” On his tombstone are the words, “With Christ…far better.”

I’m afraid most of us are like the little fellow down South, who, when asked if he wanted to go to Heaven, replied, “No, Sir!” But when the amazed witness added, “You mean, you don’t want to go to Heaven when you die?” the answer was, “Oh, you mean when I die. I thought you were getting a load up to go now!” We laugh, but the tragedy is, most of us fall into this category.

We are never as dedicated as we’d like to think we are.