I love reading Paul’s letters to the early church. There is so much to digest in almost every verse. Chapter 1, verses 23-24 shows how dedicated Paul was to the church and how much he loved Jesus, 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. While Paul loved the church and genuinely loved people, his greatest desire was to be with Jesus in heaven. I think this points to Paul’s maturity and I can relate to it. When I was younger I was afraid that God would take me from this earth too early and I would miss out on too many things. Now that I’m older, I know being with God can not compare to any experience I could ever have in heaven. While I look forward to the way God chooses to use me for the rest of my life, I know my life will pale in comparison to the eternity I will experience with Christ in heaven.