In this earthly life of ours, we are living in our "earthly tent", in this earthly weak human bodies, which are prone to sicknesses, decay, aging and death. We are mortal and we suffer pain, diseases, bodily aging and degeneration. We groan, we suffer. Many times we are worried, anxious, fearful, and discouraged, or sad especially when a loved one dies. But we should rejoice because God has promised that He will give us an immortal, incorruptible, undying, healthy bodies, which is not prone to diseases, decay or aging. We have eternal, everlasting life. God gave us an initial deposit or guarantee regarding his promise; He gave us the Holy Spirit. Thank you LORD.
Text: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 NIV - New International Version
1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,
3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.
4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.
7 For we live by faith, not by sight.
8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
INSIGHTS:
[From Our Daily Bread] I settled into the church pew behind a woman as the worship team began playing “I Can Only Imagine.” Raising my hands, I praised God as the woman’s sweet soprano voice harmonized with mine. After telling me about her health struggles, we decided to pray together during her upcoming cancer treatments.
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A few months later, Louise told me she feared dying. Leaning onto her hospital bed, I rested my head next to hers, whispered a prayer, and quietly sang our song. I can only imagine what it was like for Louise when she worshiped Jesus face-to-face just a few days later.
The apostle Paul offered comforting assurance for his readers who were facing death (2 Corinthians 5:1). The suffering experienced on this side of eternity may cause groaning, but our hope remains anchored to our heavenly dwelling—our eternal existence with Jesus (vv. 2–4). Though God designed us to yearn for everlasting life with Him (vv. 5–6), His promises are meant to impact the way we live for Him now (vv. 7–10).
As we live to please Jesus while waiting for Him to return or call us home, we can rejoice in the peace of His constant presence. What will we experience the moment we leave our earthly bodies and join Jesus in eternity? We can only imagine! By Xochitl Dixon
[From Bible Commentary] Paul used metaphors like “jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7) and “earthly tent” (5:1) to describe the frailty and mortality of our earthly human bodies, contrasting them with the indestructibility, immortality, and glory of our resurrection bodies. Our earthly bodies are “wasting away” (4:16), worn out by sin, decay, and death. While “we grow weary in our present bodies,” Paul points us to the hope of our eternal glorious embodiment when we will “put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing” (5:2 nlt). The apostle likens the believer’s new body to “a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself” (v. 1 nlt). Elsewhere, Paul speaks of a “spiritual body”—imperishable, glorious, powerful, and everlasting (1 Corinthians 15:42–53). K. T. Sim
[From me] In this earthly life of ours, we are living in our "tent", in this earthly human bodies - weak, prone to sickness, decay and death. We are mortal and we suffer pain, diseases, bodily aging and degeneration. We groan. We suffer. Many times we are worried, anxious, fearful, and discouraged, or sad especially when a loved one dies. But we should rejoice because God will give us an immortal, incorruptible, undying, healthy bodies, which is not prone to diseases, decay or aging. We have eternal, everlasting life. Thank you LORD.
March 14, 2023
