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.
Therefore we are always confident... Other translations change the word confident to "of good cheer" here, and since we've just talked yesterday about our earthly bodies versus our heavenly bodies, it does make me smile. We can be "of good cheer" or "confident" about our bodies as they fall apart before our very eyes because of the confidence we have in what's to come. This is SO not the end!
...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. Being reminded that we are away from the Lord as long as we are in these bodies is not meant to weigh us down, but instead is meant to give us hope -- that one day we will be with Him and in our new bodies! We keep this faith alive in our hearts, despite what the world around us tells us about our bodies: that they're too wrinkly and shouldn't be, that gray hair is the devil, and that a few extra lumps and bumps need to be exterminated right now or people will find out that we're not going to live forever on this earth! And most of society believes these lies, or wants to at least. Instead, we don't focus on what we can see because it means nothing to us. We are headed for a place that will absolutely blow our minds if we could only catch a glimpse, and we'll be in bodies that will do the very same thing. The lame will walk, the mute will speak, and the blind will see...and so much more!
We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. And when we really believe this, it changes everything! For most of my life, I have feared going to Heaven someday because I was just so comfortable right where I am (I say that about a lot of things, unfortunately). But I wanted the confidence to say that, I really did. And when my mom died, and I was forced to deal with the concept of Heaven face-to-face, I came to understand that now I, too, am very confident and can say that I would prefer to be away from this raggedy body, yes, and at home with the Lord! It is this that we don't see that keeps me going even now!
So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. And again, he reminds us that the bodies are not the main focus and concern. Instead, our sole goal is to please the Lord -- that is our spiritual act of worship. No matter where I am, what I'm doing, or who I'm with, I want my focus to be that, to be always asking, Am I pleasing you, Lord? That is what matters most.
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. A reminder that when we do die and appear before the Lord, our lives (our words and actions) will be judged. We may have eternal life, but we will need to make an account for our actions. That's not to intimidate, but rather to hold us accountable. We represent Christ, so we do need to be held accountable that we're representing Him well!
One question might be: how did you use your body?
Did we shriek at every sign of age, wear, and tear, or did we thank Him for the body He gave us that shows signs of use? Did we spend all our time, effort and money making our body beautiful down here, or did we spend
some time, effort, and money using our body to serve others, which in turn beautified our
heart? After all, that is the only thing we get to take with us when we go.
No comments:
Post a Comment