Earthly Tents

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1New International Version (NIV)

13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[a] Since we have that same spirit of[b] faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 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.

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.

Since my teenage years, I remember people telling me how aches and pains will stick around longer as you age.  As a teenager I laughed this off because healing was something that came easy at that point.  It wasn’t even that long ago that I took healing quickly for granted but recently the process seems to be taking longer.  I wake up with sore joints and stiffness in my back.  I see Griffin and Cora fall down on concrete and not even shed a tear.  All the while, I am thinking that such a fall just might have brought me to tears.  The worst part about this whole situation is that it only gets worse from here.  The healing process only continues to slow down.  There is no going back.  Another part of growing up is learning the social norms of conversation.  If Griffin is comfortable around someone, he will disperse any and all information without batting an eye.  He does not have much of a filter and since he is really well spoken, it is not difficult to figure out what he is trying to tell you.  Both of these life lessons provide us with some great faith lessons this morning.  

First, Paul says, “...We also believe and therefore speak...”  This is the very reason I can  stand in front of you this morning.  I can speak to you because I believe.  The conversations I was able to have last weekend with people I did not know were so awesome.  People were so willing to share with me about their faith and their struggles.  It is hard to describe the kind of opportunity afforded to me last weekend.  An opportunity that I am so thankful for.  I truly believe that a denomination like the Disciples of Christ is the future direction of the Church because of how it continually looks to better itself.  The autonomy of individual congregations is rare.  The openness of our communion table is even more rare.  And the way we view faith and our relationship with God and with one another is the rarest.  All of which were topics of different conversations that I was grateful to have.  We are able to speak with such confidence because we know that the one who raised Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Him.  Paul goes on to tell us that all of this happens for our benefit.  Lets wrap our minds around that for a minute: God sent his one and only son to show us love and sacrifice, God makes grace ever reaching and ever lasting in the hopes that it may, may cause thanksgiving to overflow.  It seems like God sure does a lot on our behalf in the hopes that our thanksgiving will overflow to the glory of God.  For some, that is what happens but what about those who do not see God’s love for what it is?  

Perhaps, one of the most interesting conversations I had involved the question about what happens to non believers or those who doubt.  A question that I still struggle with to this very day.  If I see God’s grace as big enough to forgive me for my shortcomings and view God’s love as everlasting then who am I to determine what the cutoff between heaven and hell is?  My answer to the question was long and complicated but I don’t know that it has to be... Quite simply, the determination is not for us to find.  We aren’t called to do the minimum so finding the very least parameter that will get us to Heaven is not the point.  If we are aware of God’s love then we are called to share that love with others in the best way we know how.  We want to define God by a certain set of guidelines and it is just not possible.  The alpha and the omega is not something we can quantify.

Second, Paul encourages us to “not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”  How encouraging is that?!  Our earthly body, or Paul also calls it our earthly tent, wakes up with more and more sore joints and a stiff back as it ages.  Our earthly tent fades, crumbles, weakens but there is a force behind it that keeps it going.  There is a force that renews the soul even as the body fades.  I think the cycle of life, death and eternal life is definitely part of God’s plan.  The renewal that takes part is the everlasting effect of God’s love and grace.  Paul goes on to say that our momentary earthly troubles are helping us achieve an eternal glory that outweighs all of our struggles.  So even in the worst moments and days of our lives we can find purpose.  This means that everyone, at any and all times, is achieving eternal glory through their struggles.  This helps us shed light in the parts of our lives that seem so dark.  

Paul goes on to say that we should concentrate on what is unseen.  This too helps us with so much.  In a world where we often see physical beauty as such an important characteristic it is important that we remind ourselves to concentrate on the unseen.  It is God that is unseen.  What we can physically see is the work of human hands but it is the spirit that leads the unseen.  What we see is temporary and the unseen is eternal.  Here is where I struggle a little bit.  Paul wants us to fix our eyes on the unseen but for far too long Christians have taken this to mean that this life, here on earth, then carries very little importance.  Yes, Paul tells us to fix our eyes on the unseen but our hands and feet are planted firmly here.  God’s love and grace are unseen and eternal, they never fall short.  The goodness we attempt and the attempted betterment of society will fall short but we should still keep attempting it.  Fix our eyes on God.  Fix our hands and feet to help people realize the love God has for them.  In order for God’s salvation to take place, there is no certain phrase or action needed.  There is only a relationship.  

It is that relationship, with one another and with God, that keeps our eyes fixed on Him and hands and feet working to share that love with each other.  We have believed, therefore we need to speak.  Focus on the unseen glory, grace and love of God so others can see how your relationship with God has helped you through the dark times, has picked you up when you have fallen, has loved you no matter what.  2 Corinthians 5:1 says “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.”  Amen.