When Lee Strobel was researching his book on heaven, he interviewed Luis Palau, the Argentinian evangelist who preached to more than a billion people. “He knew he was dying,” said Strobel. “He has stage found lung cancer..I flew out to Portland because I wanted to interview someone who was about to go up to heaven…He told me he’s not afraid of dying. He said, I really believe that to be absent front he body is to be present with the Lord.
For the Christian, dying means an immediate entrance into the physical presence of the Lord. We leave behind (temporarily, until the resurrection) our bodies of sickness and pain. Yet in the flick of an eye, we’re there with Jesus for all eternity.
The Lord will give us extra grace for the moment He takes us home. For that reason, we are confident—even well pleased —to be with him.