July 18 – Discarding Rags for a Suit of Glory

 “For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” -  2 Corinthians 5:4 (ESV)

Reflecting back to the promise verse three days ago, we considered what Paul the Apostle meant by “to die is gain.” In our world, we nearly always consider death to be a loss. Loss of life, family, loved ones…whatever is precious to us is lost to us when we die. Paul restates that he could hardly wait to be in his glorified body. Paul wrote about fixing his eyes “not on what is seen but on what is unseen” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Paul wanted the fullness, through the fulfillment of all that God had planned for him in eternal life, when we lose all that is earthly and human as we exit this world. He states this by making the allusion that the temporary decaying part of us being swallowed up by what is eternal life. We will have immortal imperishable spiritual bodies in heaven.  Perhaps a true loss for us happens when we prefer what we have now over what we will have been promised. Now, our life is poorly dressed with the rags of humiliation and hardship. Let’s focus on what we will be dressed in and not treasure our poor present state of being.

 

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July 14 – Groaning for Better Accommodations

“For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.” – 2 Corinthians 5:1-3 (NASB)

We need first to reflect back to the last verses in chapter 4. Paul writes of our physical body which is constantly in the process of decay and will eventually die. While he was referring to the normal aging process, he adds the emphasis that his lifestyle sped up that process. Sometimes it does. Perhaps we need to check and see if the activity that is speeding up the decay of our bodies is something of eternal value in the Kingdom? Or, is our effort amounting to nothing that brings glory to God? Paul’s metaphor for the physical body is understandable because many people were nomadic tent dwellers, and Paul the tentmaker knew much about tents. Paul had a passionate longing to be free and good reason to be eager of when he would be separated from his earthly body; its accompanying sins, frustrations, and relentless weaknesses. But what will be next for us? Unlike the pagans who thought the spirit is released into a nebulous infinity of nothingness, Paul makes clear that the as believers our hope for the next life is not a disembodied spiritual life, but a real, eternal, resurrection body in heaven with God.

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