Longing For Home!

Reflection:  Someone once said, “There is a hole in our soul that only God can fill”.  Today’s reading in 2 Corinthians reflects this when it says: 

5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ² Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, ³ because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Paul uses the metaphor of a tent to signify our earthly home. Since I am not very fond of tents and the whole camping thing, I can relate to the “groaning” he talks about.  Paul is talking about our mortal bodies, which while they are wasting away on the outside, God is renewing us inwardly day by day.  And the longing of our hearts is to be clothed as Paul states with our “heavenly dwelling”. 

Then, Paul states that God has fashioned us for this very purpose.  Meaning our very purpose from the beginning is to be with God in heaven.  Paul even talks about his longing for his heavenly home and clothing, when he says I would prefer by far to be with God but as long as I am here I will seek to serve him with all I have knowing my citizenship is in heaven. 

And then Paul uses a very important word to describe how we know this is our purpose, and the role of the Spirit in this purpose, who is a “deposit guaranteeing our future inheritance”.  Literally the word “deposit” (GK= arrabon) is a commercial loan word used in the marketplace for security or pledge of assurance on a future payment. 

What can all this mean for us?  Life is hard.  We all struggle and strain and toil to pay bills, raise kids, keep our bosses happy and generally keep it all together.  But amidst this daily toil there is a greater purpose for us being here.  There is the promise that one day we will leave this tent-like experience and be clothed from glory on high.  Therefore, we long for this and this hope sustains us from becoming weary!  And as a bonus we have the Spirit which is a down payment on our future inheritance in heaven.  What a gift of grace, what a great reminder of what shall be some day!  Take a moment to celebrate this in your heart however you day is going! 

Psalm 69:30-36

³⁰ I will praise God’s name in song
    and glorify him with thanksgiving.
³¹ This will please the Lord more than an ox,
    more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
³² The poor will see and be glad—
    you who seek God, may your hearts live!
³³ The Lord hears the needy
    and does not despise his captive people.

³⁴ Let heaven and earth praise him,
    the seas and all that move in them,
³⁵ for God will save Zion
    and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
³⁶     the children of his servants will inherit it,
    and those who love his name will dwell there.

Proverbs 22

22 A good name is more desirable than great riches;
    to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

² Rich and poor have this in common:
    The Lord is the Maker of them all.

³ The prudent see danger and take refuge,
    but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

⁴ Humility is the fear of the Lord;
    its wages are riches and honor and life.

⁵ In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,
    but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

⁶ Start children off on the way they should go,
    and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

⁷ The rich rule over the poor,
    and the borrower is slave to the lender.

⁸ Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity,
    and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.

⁹ The generous will themselves be blessed,
    for they share their food with the poor.

¹⁰ Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;
    quarrels and insults are ended.

¹¹ One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
    will have the king for a friend.

¹² The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
    but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

¹³ The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!
    I’ll be killed in the public square!”

¹⁴ The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit;
    a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.

¹⁵ Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
    but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.

¹⁶ One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth
    and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

2 Corinthians 5:1-15

Awaiting the New Body

5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ² Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, ³ because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

⁶ Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷ For we live by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

¹¹ Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. ¹² We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. ¹³ If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

I gave them my statutes and showed them my ordinances, by whose observance everyone shall live. Ezekiel 20:11

Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” Matthew 5:17

Gracious God, thank you for the holy scriptures which inspire and teach us. Help us to discern your desires for us so we may live lives consistent with your purposes. Let studying and obeying your law be our delight! Amen.