For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:4-8
This Body is a Tent
Daily Devotion – June 19, 2018
Devotion based on 2 Corinthians 5:4-8
See series: Devotions
Today I sit in the monochrome waiting room of the specialist doctor’s office to which I was referred. Last night I went to the funeral home full of bright flower arrangements to attend the visitation for a man loved by many, now departed from this life. Last week I spoke with an adolescent young man who has an appointment scheduled to scan his body for any cancerous cells left following surgery. Tomorrow there is a good chance I will be very sore after my morning workout. If you’ve lived, you have had similar experiences. You know one day your body will give out and give up.
There is a reason you sit in medical building waiting rooms and why your loved ones will one day gather for a visitation when you have passed. The bodies we have are tents for our souls. Tents are temporary dwellings, made from canvass, plastic, or fabric. They are set up for now, but soon they will be taken down. They rip and tear, and we groan through it.
Even if you groan, you can have confidence always. The God who has created you has also created a new dwelling place for you. He has created a heavenly dwelling—a permanent home. It is yours to occupy, because of Jesus.
Our current bodies struggle and fail, because our lives are filled with disobedience to our creator. If we were to stand before his judgment seat on our own, such disobedience would merit his disownment. Yet, God sent his Son, Jesus, to dwell in the earthly tent of a human body for a time. His death came before his body naturally gave out. His death was brought by the cross.
Jesus willingly gave his life up to death to be disowned by God in your place. He did this, so you could one day be at home with the Lord, with a perfect body that will never give out or give up. Trusting in Jesus as your Savior, that is your confidence.
Prayer:
Lord God, when I groan over the temporary nature of my earthly body, remind me that I can have complete confidence in the permanent home you have for me in heaven through Jesus Christ. Amen.
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