I shall rise from the dead.... I shall see the Son of God, the Sun of Glory, and shine myself as that sun shines. John Donne

Jesus told the dying thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). The apostle Paul said that to die was to be with Christ (Philippians 1:23), and to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).