Steven A. Bush - February 14, 2016
A Matter of Life and Death
Paul in prison, not yet knowing his fate, writes in Philippians 1:21-23 "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better." With fellow believers dying for their faith around the world and our prayer lists full of those battling illnesses that may prove terminal, these words cannot help but undergird us with strength, courage, and hope. We will all face our time of departure and yet if Christ is with us now, there will never be a time when we are apart from Him. Meanwhile we live and work and serve and pray and cry and hope and all this with love and patience as we await that Better Day. Gain will one day be ours when we enter the presence of Jesus and see Him face to face. Like the old hymn says, "When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory!"