To Be With Christ Is Far Better
To be absent from my earthly body
Is to be present forever with the Lord.
Here with you or at home in Heaven –
This dilemma seems a two-edged sword.
I want to be here with my loved ones,
I want no sorrow to come their way –
But to be present with my Saviour
Is a desire that means more than I can say.
I’ve walked with Jesus for so many years,
Is it time now to leave this mortal domain?
Torn between two desires – which is better –
To depart for Heavenly shores or to remain?
The hope of a new body, oh to be glorified,
No more trials – gone forever – is it time?
There’s so many wonders to look forward to –
But, I will long for those I will leave behind.
Between the glories of eternity, and those who make me whole,
It’s a choice I cannot make – both appeal to my soul.
I’m in a strait between these two – but my spirit is at rest –
For I’m leaving the choice with my Father – He alone knows what is best.
“To depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.”
September 29, 2024
Jerry Bouey
(Dedicated to Frances Johnson)
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Philippians 1:20-23 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: