“[A]s it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 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. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account” (Philippians 1:20-24 ESV).
Not long ago I read a news report about the sharp increase in what they call “suicide tourism” in Switzerland. The Swiss permit assisted suicide, and with fewer restrictions than some other nations that have it. So from 2008-2012 there were over 600 foreigners who traveled there, mostly from Germany and Great Britain, not to go skiing or to eat chocolate and cheese, but to have their lives ended by a lethal injection of sodium pentobarbital, as though they were old, worn out dogs or cats. How terribly, terribly sad that these folks could not entrust their lives to the Lord, whose grace is sufficient in all our pain and afflictions, and who promises His power is made perfect in weakness. One wonders: in making this tragic decision, were they thinking about other people and how they could serve them, or were they thinking mainly about themselves – about their desire to be in control of their own lives, and their desire to determine their own “quality of life”—a pleasant life free from suffering?
What a radical, radical contrast we see in the example of St. Paul as he considered the possibility of his own death. Paul, too, had experienced great suffering in his life—far more than most will ever face here on earth—including great physical suffering. He suffered from what he called a “thorn in the flesh,” some burdensome affliction the Lord saw fit to let him live with. Yet Paul viewed his life in a very Christ-centered manner: he trusted the Lord, was confident of His presence, and desired to honor Him; and, like Christ, he also cared about others first, wanting to work for their blessing by his labor in the gospel. So as the apostle was sitting in prison in Rome, contemplating the possibility of continued life or of death, he spoke in this Christ-centered way: “also now, as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death.” (1:20b)
And as the apostle pondered these matters, he knew there was good in either living on or in dying. It would be good to live here on earth for a while longer. For his life was Christ and would continue to be. Besides that, living on in the flesh would mean the fruit of labor for him. In other words, it would provide Paul with the opportunity for continued labor for the sake of the church. He was living in faith toward Christ and in love for others.
Yet it would also be good to depart, that is, to die. The apostle said he longed to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. So he was hard pressed by the two to make a choice. “To live on or to depart?” That was the question.
As it turns out, Paul was convinced and knew that he would remain a while longer in the flesh. We surmise that the Lord must have revealed this knowledge to him somehow; otherwise he wouldn’t have been so sure about it. So Paul was certain he would live on at least for a while so he could further serve the Philippians and other Christians with the word of God, helping them along in the one, true faith.
Now, as we Christians listen to Paul relating his thoughts about his own continued life or death, we can easily relate to him. For all of us face the possibility of death at any time in our life. And there are those particular instances where this possibility becomes a more urgent and immediate focus for our thoughts. When a Christian grows older and gets into those senior years, he understands that the time of death is drawing ever nearer, and naturally gives this more serious thought. When a serviceman goes off to military duty in a war zone, he will likely think more seriously about the possibility of death. When a person develops an illness that is potentially life-threatening, or when we may have to go through that with someone in our family or a close friend, it’s the same thing; the question of living on or departing inevitably comes into sharper focus.
And, like St. Paul, we know that, for believers in Jesus, there is good in living on and in dying. So at some point we too may be very much torn between the two.
Not that we get to choose the time of our departure, of course; that’s in the Lord’s hands. We just don’t know how long we’ll live on and when we’ll depart. For, unlike St. Paul, we are not recipients of direct revelations from God. And he certainly hasn’t told us about such matters in the Bible. So while we may have our own ideas and preferences about this—“I’d like to die at home, asleep in my bed,” etc.—it’s finally up to Him, and we trust the Lord to make the right choice.
Which is good! We shouldn’t be afraid or anguished over such matters. We shouldn’t worry about whether we will live on or depart, because our wise and loving God graciously gives us the best of both worlds! Have you ever thought of it that way before? God lovingly permits us to live on in this life for just the right amount of time, and to depart and be with Christ when the time is right.
For all of us get to live on for as long as the Lord sees fit. The timing of our departure is up to Him, not to us. God reminds us, “[N]o one has power in the day of death.” (Ecclesiastes 8:8) But as long as the Lord does delay our departure and decides to keep us living here, it’s fine. For we too can confess with the apostle, “For to me to live is Christ!” There’s that wonderful and powerful Christ-centered focus. Jesus Christ is our Life, our Creator and our Savior. As long as we live on, He is with us. Since Christ has baptized us into Him, His righteousness covers us. Christ’s atoning blood gives us the assurance of our pardon and the certainty of His favor and acceptance. Christ hears and answers our prayers. Christ supports us in our troubles and gives us the endurance to bear sickness, pain, sorrow, and other suffering—even suffering so great we might wish our life were ended sooner. Christ’s resurrection fills us with hope and strengthens us to keep on going as long as it pleases Him, because He’s promised our own resurrection is coming! So as long as we live on here in this world, we live in Christ. And that is very good! To live is Christ!
Besides that, our continued life here on earth also gives us the opportunity to labor for the sake of others. This too is Christ-centered, living in Christ-like love. As long as we live on, we too are privileged to bear “the fruit of work,” which is to serve one another. What particular service that might be depends on your station in life. It may be very active and vigorous work. As our health and strength decline, it may become somewhat less strenuous, for example, encouraging others through notes and cards and phone calls, and interceding for them in prayers, bearing witness to Jesus to those who are around, and so forth. For some, including those who are very ill and disabled, their service may be primarily as recipients of loving care; they bear fruit by providing their brothers and sisters in Christ someone to love and care for! But no matter what the work is, so long as we live on we do it in Christ, and He is graciously pleased with it.
Then, of course, when the Lord decides the time is right, He permits us to depart and be with Him! St. Paul said this is really good! “To die is gain,” he told them. And again, “To depart and be with Christ … is far better.” To depart is far better than living here is this sinful world because when we die and go to heaven, all sin’s results will be gone. Pain, sorrow, toilsome labor, sickness, disability, death, and so forth—they’ll all be a thing of the past!
And best of all, when we depart and go to heaven, we’ll be with Christ! It’s not that He isn’t with us now, for He is. But His presence isn’t visible yet. In heaven, though, we’ll enjoy a presence that is immediate and visible. We will be with Christ in a manner even more intimate and joyous than we experience now. It’s no wonder Paul wrote the Corinthians, “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8 NKJV) So even though death in itself is a bad thing—a terrible thing—the Lord graciously uses it as the occasion to take the souls of His believers to Himself in heaven, to be with Him where He is, until finally He raises us from the dead so that we can enjoy His presence as complete people, body and soul, in glory forever!
So, shall we live on, or shall we depart? Take heart, Christians; we get to do both! And they’re both good! For to live is Christ and to die is gain! So we won’t worry about the timing, much less try to determine it ourselves. We will simply leave this in the wise and loving hands of our Lord, and occupy ourselves in the fruit of work for service to others, until Christ calls us to depart and be with Him—all the while enjoying His grace and mercy.
Rev. Daniel Bishop is pastor at St. John Lutheran Church in Pekin, Illinois.