Living in a Tent

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My son Jonathan and his wife Danielle love to camp. In fact, right now they are traveling out west through some of our national parks setting up tents and sleeping in sleeping bags. And, I am sure they are having a great time.  When I’m asked about camping, however, I tell people that my idea of camping is staying in a fully equipped and furnished cabin or going to the nearest Residence Inn.  In other words, I really don’t want to have to sleep in a tent.  A tent has little to no appeal for me. 

 

I know that for some people staying in a tent can be fun. It’s nice to get close to nature and to experience a different side of life. But I would submit that given a choice, few people would choose to live in a tent. Most people would prefer to live in a house, a building of some sort. After all, a tent is not always the best protection from the elements of nature. Nor is a tent the most stable; a tent is easily blown down or knocked over. A house provides much better protection, stability, and comfort. Thus, although it may be fun to periodically stay in a tent, given the choice most people would prefer to live in a house rather than a tent. 

Seems like fun...but not forever!

In his second letter to the church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul likens our physical bodies to a tent.  Think about that: our physical bodies are likened to that which is easily put up and just as easily taken down; our bodies are likened to that which is easily blown down or knocked over. The truth is, our bodies lack long-term stability for we are all mortal. Thus, Paul reminds us that our bodies are like tents—just temporary dwellings that constantly remind us of our own mortality.  

But the Apostle Paul tells us as well, we will not have to live forever in tents. God has a much more permanent dwelling planned for his people.  God has promised to us a life beyond this life. It’s a life that is eternal and that includes a new body which is better likened to a house.    

“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…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.” (2 Corinthians 5:1,4 – NIV)

Today you might be experiencing some aches and pains in your body. Maybe you are dealing with an illness or disease that seems to be getting the best of you. It might be that you are sensing that your body is just not what it once was. If so, remember: your body is just a tent—a temporary dwelling.  God has in store for you “an eternal house in heaven”—i.e. a new and glorified body; an eternal body—if you will trust him with your life.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18 – NIV)

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris