Assuming his dad was a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, I would comfort him with the following three passages from Scripture.

Luke 23:43 says, “And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (NKJV). Jesus spoke these words to a thief that was hanging on the cross right next to Him. The thief turned to the Lord Jesus in repentance and faith in “his last hour” (see verses 40-42) and the Lord promised him that on that very day he would enter into Paradise (heaven) with Him. That man woke up that day a no-good thief but the moment he closed his eyes in death his spirit went to heaven. Again, it was his faith in Christ that saved him, for if you read verses 40-42 you’ll see that he admitted he was a sinner, he declared that Christ was a sinless Man, and then he confessed Jesus as Lord. Romans 10:9-10 declares, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” You can tell your partner that Luke 23:43 has been used to bless many with the knowledge that the moment a believer dies he enters into Paradise and that the greatest thing about this is that he is “with Christ,” the One who loved him and gave Himself for him.

2^nd Corinthians 5:8 states, “We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord” (NASB). The apostle Paul knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if he were to die, his spirit would leave his body and he would go immediately into the presence of the Lord. Like the penitent thief who believed on Christ, the apostle Paul had come to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. You can read about his conversion in Acts 9:1-20. Paul not only knew that he was going to heaven when he died, but he LOOKED FORWARD TO IT! This is clearly seen in him saying that he PREFERRED to be “absent from the body and at home with the Lord.” The thief was told he was going to be in PARADISE; Paul refers to heaven here as HOME. It is precious truth that once a sinner believes on Christ for salvation, this world is no longer his home; HEAVEN IS HIS HOME. And what makes it a home? Ah, it is because Christ his Savior lives there! We often say, “a house is not a home”; instead we say, “home is where the heart is.” We say that because home is the place where we live with those who love us and Paul knew that Christ loved him. I would encourage you to read Galatians 2:20.

Philippians 1:21 & 23, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain…For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” The apostle Paul is the speaker again and at the time of this writing he knew he could be martyred for his faith in Christ at any moment. Yet he could say, “To die is gain” and that he had “a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” As we saw in our last scripture, Paul knew that he was “on his way home to heaven,” but here he doesn’t even refer to heaven at all; he simply mentions being “with Christ,” This reinforces what we saw in both Luke 23:43 and 2^nd Corinthians 5:8; it is being “with the Lord” that will make heaven so precious to the believer. It’s not the “streets of gold” or the “pearly gates” that will be the main attraction, but the One who died for us and made us fit for heaven. Paul adds that being with Christ “is far better.” Better than what? Better than anything we have ever experienced in this life, and better than anything we could ever imagine. This is what your partner’s father is experiencing right now.

You could also tell him that if he believes on the Lord Jesus as his Savior, he can know that he will “see his father again.” This is revealed to us in 1^st Thessalonians 4:13-14, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep (those who have “died”), lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.” There were believers in Thessalonica who had died and in these words Paul is comforting believers who were still alive by assuring them when Christ returns He will bring those who died believing in Him with Him and thus loved ones would be reunited in the glory at that time. I will be praying that your partner will indeed be comforted by these scriptures and thoughts, and that if he has never trusted in Christ as his own personal Savior, he will do so before it’s too late. And let me add that I will be praying for you to be saved if you have not put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (281.9) (DO)