"But though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
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. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad". 2 Corinthians 4:16b-5:10
Nobody gets out alive...
We all know this. Christians don't get to escape the inevitable simply because we have eternal life...we still die.
Of course, that makes no sense...in human terms. How can we die if we have eternal life? Paul tells us the prospect of death means something entirely different for the Christian than what it means for the rest of the world.
When God put His Spirit within us he built something entirely new...a tabernacle in which His Spirit might dwell and it is indestructible. Now, you might ask, where is this tabernacle and how can I recognize it?
God's Spirit dwells with our human spirit...transforming it. Our spirit cannot be located. It cannot be found by an MRI or an X-ray. It's that metaphysical part of our being that is not governed by the physical. Yet...we all have an intimate awareness of our spirit and we can immediately identify it as the core of our being. It is the part of us that thinks, desires and feels. It is the part of us that is uniquely us...like a snowflake. It is the part of us that we love (or, hate) the most. And, it is the part that God loves.
Flesh and bone...really? I'm short and old. I'm not all that attached...
But my spirit? I can't begin to explain how important it is to me. In fact...it "is" me. And, I marvel at what God's Spirit has done for my Spirit since He moved in. It's a miracle!
And when these old bones lay down to die...my spirit...with the help of God's Spirit will be transported to the very presence of God Almighty where I will live forever...with a spirit that has become everything I've always hoped: pure emotions, pure intentions and pure desires.
I won't miss the bones...
Here is the question today: How will your neighbor, or your loved one, find the dwelling place of God if God's Spirit isn't living within them to escort them?
We can't make them believe it. Only God can lift the veil from their eyes. But...we can show them the treasure inside.
Live boldly out there today...
No comments:
Post a Comment