Ready to go, but willing to stay...

A year ago last Friday, my Me-Maw passed away. As Christians, you often hear this described as "going home to be with the Lord." But I wonder how many of us really get the concept we're describing when we use that phrase. It's a comforting thought, but is that all it is?

Let's break it down:
"Going home" means we don't belong here and there's somewhere else we do belong. Anyone who's left home for college, military service, a job or an extended trip knows that home is an irreplaceable idea. We get homesick and we long for those we love that make home-home. Do we have that same longing for Heaven? Do we long to be there more than where we are? Do we get homesick for the One who makes Home-Home? If not, why not?

"To be with the Lord" means we will finally be face to face with our Creator, our Father, our Savior. We will have the relationship that Adam and Eve had with Him in the Garden before the forbidden fruit incident. We will be able to actually see Him when we talk to him. Think of it as the difference between reading an e-mail from someone you love and actually sitting down on the couch and talking with them. Being able to look into their eyes and read their expressions is so much better, don't you think? Do we picture being with the Lord this way? Do we love Him so much that we don't want to be away from Him, but instead long to be in His actual presence? Of course, being omnipresent, we are never out of His presence, but when we get to Heaven, we will be able to see Him, touch Him, talk to and hear Him. Does that idea get your heart beating faster? If not, why not?

So, how do we get to the point where instead of being ready to stay, but willing to go we're more ready to go, but willing to stay? Or biblically speaking, how do you get to the point where you can truly say with Paul, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. " (Phil 1:21-26)?