Journey Through The Bible
     Old Testament Reading: Judges 7-9
     New Testament Reading: 2 Corinthians 5

So we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him (2 Corinthians 5:6-9).

When it comes to speaking about death, we often hear words such as, I think … I believe … I hope. But not the Apostle Paul. He didn’t use such indecisive speech. Confidently, he asserts, for we know (v1a). Such is the certainty of Scripture regarding death. Christian do not need to consult a fortune-teller, Ouija Board, or deck of cards to find out what the future holds or what lies on the other side of death. God has told us all we need to know in the pages of His Word.

Jesus said, Because I live, you will live too (John 14:19). We know with certainty Jesus is alive and therefore we can know just as confidently that death cannot claim us.

Paul was a master of analogies and uses the difference between a tent and a building to help us understand this mystery of the afterlife. A tent is a temporary place to dwell. It’s fun to camp in a tent, but it’s not home. There is no soft bed. It’s cold in the winter and hot in the summer, and it leaks when it rains. And the older it gets, the more it sags, and eventually, it frays and tears.

No wonder Paul says in verse 2 that we groan. Doctors make their living by listening to groaning tents. They try to keep the canvas in good shape and are always stitching and patching us up! We groan because we are weary, rain-soaked campers longing for home. Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are (v4).

But when we shed this earthly tent, we need not fear, for we will not be left homeless. Paul confidently informs us that if our earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands (v1b).

Paul goes on to say, Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment (v5). We can be certain that one day we will have new bodies like the glorified body of our Savior, because we have the Holy Spirit within us today. The Holy Spirit is the down payment that guarantees our future inheritance, including a glorified body.

God’s children are found in one of two places: either in heaven or on earth. Believers on earth are at home in the body, while believers who have died are away from the body. Believers on earth are away from the Lord, while believers in heaven are at home with the Lord.

Paul walked by faith, not by sight(v7). He looked at the unseen eternal by faith, not the temporal which is seen. Heaven was not simply a destination for Paul; it was his motivation. Like the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, he looked for the heavenly city and managed his life with eternal values. The driving force of his life was always to please the Lord. Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him (v9).