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.
I have a love-hate relationship with my body. It's not the "oh, I hate the way I look" kind of hate, on most days anyway, though like many of us, I often think I could probably lose a couple pounds. No, most days I feel pretty okay with the body I've been given because it works. It does what it was made to do: walk, eat, move, etc, and every little part performs its job fairly well. But, the dislike has begun in the past year or two, and is most noticeable whenever I suddenly feel a new ache in my leg, see a wrinkle that wasn't there last year, and most noticeably this summer, observed the surprising breadth of the freckles and moles that are beginning to show on my once porcelain skin (okay, let's be honest, it never really was the porcelain kind). Now, I know, some of you reading this may be thinking, "Oh girl, you ain't seen nothin' yet! Just wait until you turn ____!" And, I am aware of this. I think that's why I don't totally hate my body, because right now its doing well compared to where it will most certainly be some day.
In our society, so much emphasis is placed on beauty and looking young. I know I don't have to tell you this because you'll see hundreds of images today that will back me up before you close your eyes tonight. But, that's why I really liked reading this verse this morning. Because we absolutely do need to pay attention to our bodies, but our current bodies should not be our sole focus.
"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." I like how it says "if" we die. Umm, we're all gonna die, is what I was thinking. But what if the "if" means sooner than we think -- because we never think we're going to die soon. But it says we don't need to fret, because it reminds us that if we do die soon, we have a place to dwell that is not built by human hands (thank goodness, because things made by humans always eventually break). And I like the word "tent" used to refer to our bodies as if we are nomads -- and we are -- moving around from place to place until we are in our final home with the Lord. But picture a tent with me. Any tent I have ever stayed in is a cheap one, so it's thin, frail, cramped, cold, and requires mending on occasion. It is all these things and is not meant to be lived in forever. It wasn't built that way, right? Just like our bodies.
Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling... My parents raised us to like camping, or they tried at least. We would go once a year in the fall as kids. And I can remember that the entire time I was camping, I was longing for my warm, plush bed and a hot shower. I really want to like it, but it's just not my favorite. I would moan, complain, and whine on occasion in my own mind, wishing I could be back home. Don't we do the same things with our bodies: moan, complain, and whine, wishing they were a little more comfotable? Again, I think I have only seen the tip of the iceburg when it comes to watching and feeling my body deteriorate, but I've seen it in other people, too. I watched my mom's body deteriorate in a way I didn't even know bodies could do! Hers was a very ragged tent by the end, and we longed for her to be in her beautiful, hand-made, perfect body from God so badly.
...so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Mortal, mortality, mortician. In case you forgot your fifth-grade Greek and Latin roots, mort = death. Even our name (mortals) signifies that we are not ever-lasting...but we know the One who is! It's not that we want to be "unclothed" as the verse says, meaning we don't want to die. But when we know what is to come, we just want these dying bodies to be swallowed up, and we want to be immortal, just like the action-heroes. Immortal sounds like such a science fiction word to use, but that is exactly how we were originally created. In the Garden of Eden, we were not created to die, but to live with God forever there. But sin brought death upon us. And now we await the day when death is swallowed up and all we ever experience is life once again!
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. There it is: God fashioned us for the very purpose of life. And His Spirit within us is why we have this notion that we aren't supposed to die...because we weren't originally made to die! I would imagine that before the fall, Adam and Eve had some pretty awe-inspiring bodies that were perfectly made, functioned without a flaw, and were just beautiful...and someday, that is what we will have again. Because it is this groaning in our soul, this desire to stay beautiful and youthful and live forever, that God's Spirit stirs in us. It says, "There's more coming, and it will be awesome...this desire for life and beauty will be fulfilled."
So, in the meantime, we take care of the tent we have been given. We are thankful for it because it allows us to live on this earth. And when the aches, pains, sags, wrinkles, spots, bulges, and hairs starts to tiptoe into places where they weren't before, may we chuckle to ourselves and be reminded that this current tent is not built to house us forever; but very soon we will see the bodily home created for our soul as it was meant to be...immortal, beautiful, and perfect...and we'll live in the presence of The Creator Himself.
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