Absent from the Body, Present with the Lord

“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (II Corinthians 5:8)

What are you confident about? We cannot be confident that we shall see another sun-rise or another sunset. We may have the best retirement program available to man but we cannot be confident that we will have enough money to bury us when the time comes.

If we are Christians we can be confident that when we die, be it tonight, tomorrow or next week, the moment we leave this body we will be present with the Lord. Paul expressed in another epistle that he had a desire to depart and to be with Christ. (Philippians 1:23)

When we leave this old house of clay we don’t just float around in some middle-of-the-air existence. We go into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our faith becomes sight. When Stephen, the first Christian martyr was dying, he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. Then he said, "Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." He prayed and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (Acts 7:55-59) There is no better place to be than in the presence of our Savior. You can be confident of that fact.