In What Realm

Monday, October 1, 2018

Philippians 1:21-24: Fo to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor to me. Yet which I shall I choose, I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the tow. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

The Life Choice:
I was taught by many great theologians and professors at Concordia Seminary. One of them, Dr. Louis Brighton, stands out in this context. He was well into his seventies at the time after 20 plus years in the parish and 20 plus years at the Seminary. 

In the classroom, he regularly stated what St. Paul says in our passage today. Dr. Brighton would say, "I would much rather be with Jesus. And I wake up saying, 'God, I guess you're not finished with me yet.'"

The ultimate for every Christian is to be in heaven with Jesus. At the same time, we have work to do while we are still here. We want to be with Jesus, celebrating forever with Him in the feast that has no end. At the same time, we need to be here living for and serving God in anyway that we can.

In What Realm?
So in what realm do we live? That's easy to answer. We do not live in one OR the other. We live in BOTH one AND the other. Our hearts, feet, hands, and life are in the here and now serving Jesus in our daily lives. AND we have a future focus knowing that because of Jesus and His promises and our faith in Him, we are going to live with Jesus forever. We live in both realms.

We live in the here and now knowing that one day we will be with Jesus forever.

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