Absent from the Body A Present from the Lord

Raising our boys has been a wonderful experience for us. Occasionally their misunderstanding or lack of comprehension of truths we have presented them have resulted in their expressing them or reacting to them in ways that really have embellished the truth rather than diminished it.

We are members (and I am pastor) of a small church and among our small number we face the hard reality of death from time to time. The boys are brought close to this and hear their momma and daddy talk about death in Bible terms for those who know the Lord. They attend funerals and hear comforting verses presented from the pulpit. One of those is II Corinthians 5:8 which reads in part:

'...absent from the body...present with the Lord'.

Our oldest son Edwin Dale heard this truth and knew that it was good thing. He also knew that receiving a gift was good thing. His little mind put things together in a way that resulted in this 'translation' of the original:

'...absent from the body...a present from the Lord'.

What a gift it is and will be when death comes the believer's way. 'Present with the Lord' is exactly what He bequeaths to His own. He greatly desires that and said so in His High Priestly prayer of John 17. Let us rejoice in His unspeakable gift (Christ Jesus himself) and His outpouring of gifts to His own even in death.