Home and away
by Stuart Gray
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So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it (2 Corinthians 5:9).
My wife and I enjoy camping. We have the freedom to easily explore our country with relatively few encumbrances. But when camping, we are exposed to the elements, the wind and rain, the hot and cold.
So we also enjoy our home where we feel grounded and largely protected from the elements. Home is where our community lives. But we can’t have both lifestyles at the same time.
In this passage, Paul talks about living our lives in an ‘earthly tent’ that is temporary, frail and vulnerable. But we look forward to being with God, which Paul describes as ‘an eternal house in heaven’. God’s house is permanent and eternal.
Paul says in verse one that we know if the earthly tent is destroyed, we have a building from God. In verse four, Paul says we know that as long as we are in our bodies, we are away from the Lord, but because God has given us the Holy Spirit as a deposit, a guarantee of what is to come, we are always confident of our heavenly destination.
Paul’s words, ‘we know’ and ‘always confident’, show no doubt. That’s the power of the Holy Spirit.
‘We live by faith, not by sight.’ While we are in our earthly bodies, we groan and are burdened, but by faith, we are confident that our destination is the eternal house in heaven.
So how does Paul resolve this dilemma of wanting to be with God while living in our earthly bodies? We do so by making it our goal to please God, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
And Paul says that what we do with our lives matters as we will all ‘appear before the judgement seat of Christ so that each may receive due recompense for actions done in the body, whether good or evil’.
Heavenly Father, give us the will, power and strength to do what is pleasing to you. Give us clarity about our purpose in life so that we may fully live a life that is acceptable to you. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.
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