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The best is yet to be.... 5/15/2008 9:19:14 AM
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
Have you noticed that even as Christians we sometimes consider those who speak of death as having a morbid preoccupation with escaping this world? And well it may be, particularly if the people obsessing on death don’t know where they will be the moment they cross the line into eternity. For believers, however, thoughts of leaving this world should not be morbid ones, but rather the most joyous imaginable. If we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we will be in the presence of our Lord the instant after we take our last breath, shouldn’t we anticipate that transition with great joy and excitement?
The apostle Paul did, even as his earthly existence drew to a close. And what a testimony to God’s work in Paul’s life that the aging follower of Christ could proclaim that he had “fought the good fight…finished the race…kept the faith.” Shouldn’t that be the confident declaration of every believer as our “graduation to heaven” draws nearer?
Having just celebrated my sixtieth birthday, I am more aware than ever of my temporal and tenuous existence on this planet. Does that bring me any fear or sadness? Not at all. Like Paul, I know that “there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day.” Oh, how we should look forward to that Day of His appearing, when we will see Him face to face—and, as the Bible promises, we will be like Him! How can we not long for such an event?
True, we don’t want to leave this earth until we have completed our assignments and fulfilled God’s purpose and calling for us. But once that’s done, why would we want to hang around any longer? The times my husband and I have had vacations scheduled—particularly to our favorite destination, Hawaii—we counted the days until our departure, eagerly anticipating the glorious time we would spend in that island paradise. Why, then, would we claim to believe that heaven, which is so much more beautiful and spectacular than Hawaii or anywhere else on earth, is real and glorious and the place we will spend all eternity if we don’t truly want to go there? Shouldn’t we be eagerly counting the days until our departure?
Of course, unbelievers have no desire to leave this world because they have no assurance of where they will go after that. Only we who have truly been born again can know with absolute certainty that we will be in the presence of our beloved Savior for all eternity. For those who have that certainty and still lack the joyous anticipation of our day of departure from earth, maybe it’s time to refocus on the reality of what lies ahead.
Kuwa Bashir, a Christian Sudanese youth pastor who stood before his Muslim guards as they poured acid on his hands, said it best: “If I die, I will be very happy because I will leave an example for other Christians to follow in my wake” (Foxe Voices of the Martyrs, p. 460). Kuwa Bashir had the confidence that, like Paul, he had “fought the good fight…finished the race…kept the faith.” He knew where he was going—and he knew what he would leave behind.
May we be faithful to do the same so that we too can anticipate our “graduation to heaven” with great joy and excitement, knowing we have left behind “an example for other Christians to follow,” even as we step into the presence of our beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
