In
2 Corinthians 5:1-2 we read, “For we know
that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from
God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to
put on our heavenly dwelling.”
For Paul the destroying, or dissolving, of the earthly tent of his flesh
was a very distinct and present possibility throughout much of his life as an
apostle. Persecution and threats
of death were not uncommon for him (2 Corinthians 1:8-9; 4:7-10; 6:4-10;
11:23-27). Paul, the tentmaker,
employs the imagery of a tent partly to remind us of how quickly the tent that
is the human body can be dissolved, taken down, removed, destroyed. This was
especially true for the apostle himself who daily faced perils that threatened
his very life.
But Paul would have us know that death does not get the last word. Eventually death caught up to Paul but
all it could do was usher him into the next life and the beginning of his
reward (Luke 16:22). There was a
crown of righteousness waiting for Paul and if the Lord was not going to return
before Paul’s death than it was going to require
his death to gain his reward (2 Timothy 4:6-8). To Paul, death served as a doorway to something far
greater. Rather than fearing it,
he embraced it. It was the expectation of his eternal
reward that caused him to groan while in the flesh, longing to put on his
heavenly dwelling.
Yet the words of 2 Corinthians 5:1-2 came from a man who lived a very
difficult, arduous life. They came
from a man who faced significant challenges and persecutions seemingly on a
daily basis. Clearly there wasn’t
much in this world that wrapped itself around Paul’s heart to distract him from
his goal. This was a man who lived
as far from the lap of ease as one can get.
But we’re not like that, are we? We come home from work and sit down in our comfortable chairs to
relax. We watch television on high definition flat-screens, read
the local news on our "retina display" tablets, or surf the web on the little computers we call smart phones until dinner is on the table. Maybe we take the family and go out to
a restaurant instead of cooking at home. After that we may
grab some ice-cream or frozen yogurt for dessert. We go to movies and ballgames, take family vacations, shop
at the mall, hang out with friends, listen to our music, mess around on
Facebook, play games, and then come home to our warm houses and comfortable
beds.
Of course, none of these things are wrong in and of themselves. But all of these things together can
make this life awfully comfortable, can’t they? All of this together may cause a person to wonder what more
they really need? All of this
together may even swing a persons allegiance from Christ to the comforts and
pleasures of the world (1 John 2:15-17).
It begs the question: how much groaning is actually taking place among
us? How often do we find ourselves
contemplating the future reward of the faithful so deeply that words fail us to
be replaced by “groanings too deep for words”? Why would a Christian groan for a heavenly dwelling when he
has become thoroughly content with an earthly one? After all, if I treasure the things this world has to offer I’m going to have a very difficult time getting my heart to rise much higher
than my own head (Matthew 6:19-21).
So what do we do? We
remember that we’re on a pilgrimage that will last until our deaths (1 Peter
2:11). We make the best use of our
time (Ephesians 5:16), which certainly does not forbid enjoying our time here,
but does require that we enjoy the
truly good things in life, always walking in a manner worthy of our calling
(Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:1). If
we will do this than we will live very happy and fulfilling lives during the
days of our sojourn. More
importantly, we will never forget that our true home is just a door away.
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