“For in This Tent We Groan,”

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 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. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 5:1-5 ESV)

What a glorious chapter this is, Paul talks about our eternal glory with Jesus and reminds us that this “earthly home” that we now live in is only temporary. If you are like me and are on the north side of being young (and no age is not only a frame of mind), then I bet your “earthly tent” has a few patches here and there. But as Paul says, the good news is even though this “earthly tent” has served us well for many decades, we understand verse 2, “For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling,” 

Paul continues his teachings from Chapter 4 about the different focus we need between “temporal” and “eternal”.

Paul teaches us something that we remember and discuss seldom, usually only at the homegoing of a believing loved one, but we need to keep this truth in mind all the time. He states in verse 6-9, “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.” As much as we love this life that God has graciously allowed us to live, this earthly dwelling is not our home. Our home is with our Lord and Savior for all of eternity, “to be at home with the Lord.”

Let that sink in for a moment, “to be at home with the Lord”. Every believer will one day realize this blessed truth: we will be home with our Lord. But some of you might say, what about now? What am I supposed to do with this worn-out tent that seems to be failing me more and more every year? What am I supposed to do while I wait for Jesus to call me home?

Paul answers that in verse 9, “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.” Paul tells us this same thing in Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” We need to be grateful people all the time.        

We need to continue to live our lives in these not-so-perfect “tents” as much as we are able, to honor and praise our Savior. Sure, you can’t do some of the ministries that you used to do, maybe you can no longer sing in the choir, or serve on the hospitality committee, maybe you can no longer participate in the nursing home ministry, or any of the dozens of other ways you used to share the love of Jesus with others. But you can still bring honor and glory to His name, no matter what condition your “earthly tent” is in. We can all have a positive attitude; we can all pray for others; we can all share our eternal hope with others as we wait for our heavenly home with our beloved Savior.

So, brothers and sisters, let’s do what we can to keep our “earthly tents” patched up. Let’s take care of what our God has given us, but let’s not despair because these tents don’t operate as well as they used to. Remember, this is not our home; we are just passing through to our eternal home with our Lord.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"