I’m Going Home

“While we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord… and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” ~2 Corinthians 5:6,8

A family gathers quietly at the graveside of a dear loved one. A doctor tells you there’s nothing left to be done. A police officer knocks on your door to report a terrible accident. What a painful reality is death, yet it waits for no one. The thought of it scares most people despite our culture’s attempts to desensitize us to it with movies that portray death as comedy, video games that seem to be based solely on killing, and music that glorifies violence. Yet we still shudder at the thought of it, especially our own or of those we love. But what if we thought biblically about death? Would that make a difference?

In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul makes a fascinating contrast between life and death (similar to Phil 1:23). He says to live in this body means we are away from the Lord. Of course, Paul does not mean the Lord is not with us. Indeed He is, by His Holy Spirit who dwells in us (Rom 8:9; I Cor 6:19). What Paul means is that while we remain in these bodies on earth we cannot see Jesus face-to-face. We must first pass into the next life to be with the Lord.

In contrast to life away from the Lord, Paul says being away from the body (i.e., death) means we are at home with the Lord. Two things stand out in that statement: first, when we die, those who are in Christ find themselves in His presence! The Westminster Shorter Catechism says it like this (Q37): “The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory…” Did you catch it? They “immediately pass into glory.” What a wonderful promise! When we who are in Christ die, our eyes will close in this life and immediately open in glory. We cannot even image the sights we will see or the things we will experience, but one thing we do know: we will see Christ’s face, for we shall be with the Lord.

But there is another thing that should strike us. In 1 Corinthians 5:8 Paul says we will be at home with the Lord. Home. What a tremendously pregnant word. Home implies family. Home implies safety. Home implies belonging. Home implies a place to rest. Home implies comfort. Home implies fellowship and laughter. Home implies a place to eat. Home implies a place where love abounds. To pass from this life through death means we get to go home — home to Jesus.

Does death scare you? Of course, the death of a loved one will certainly sadden us — it saddened Christ (John 11:35). But we shouldn’t think of death like the world does (1 Thess 4:13). Rather, we think of it like a home-going. We immediately pass into glory, where we shall be forever with the Lord (1 Thess 4:17), at home.

Rev. Kyle Lockhart, Associate Pastor