2 CORINTHIANS 5, 1-10
Now 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. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Christians are perhaps the only people who when the topic of death comes up, do not become frightened or nervous and try to change the subject. Oh, it’s not that Christians are always begging to die. No, we Christians truly enjoy the life that God has given us, and the world He has created. But when death is imminent, we don’t fear, we don’t get nervous, we don’t want to hide our head in the pillow and pretend it’s not happening. Far from it. We rejoice in it. Because we have something better waiting for us after death. We have a permanent home waiting for us in Heaven.
In the military it’s called TDY! Temporary Duty Assignment! My home base is still in San Diego! But temporarily I will be working in Tokyo. And if the assignment is quite long, I am allowed to take my family with me. So, I live and work in Tokyo! But my real home base is in San Diego.
God has given each one of us a Temporary Duty Assignment. Our real home is in Heaven! But God has temporarily assigned us to serve Him in this world. And even if our Temporary Duty Assignment continues for 80 or 90 years, our God wants us to remember what the hymn says, “HEAVEN IS MY HOME!”
I
Paul tells us, “Now 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.” He calls our life on this earth, “living in a tent.” Tents are temporary living quarters for people. Not their permanent home! Granted some tents can be pretty luxurious and elaborate. Think about Abraham and Sarah. They were nomads. They moved from place to place. They had no permanent dwelling place. And they lived in a tent!
But their dwelling was anything but “humble, and bare.” Abraham was the richest man in that entire area. He had flocks and herds scattered all over the countryside. He had hundreds of servants. I’m sure that to anyone that passed by, Abraham and Sarah’s tent was very elaborate, and ornate, and richly furnished. And yet it was still a tent, that could easily be taken down, and moved to a new location at a moment’s notice. And Abraham and Sarah were still nomads living in a territory that did not belong to them.
Just because we live in a temporary dwelling, doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy where we are. Many servicemen and women will use their TDY to explore the area, and do tourist things that they may never afford to do again. They can enjoy the beauty and the history of the area. So, also God has given us a glorious place to live, temporary as it is. And He allows us to enjoy this earth. You can embellish your tent and make it as comfortable as you know how. You can enjoy the luxuries of this earth, and make your home as beautiful and as comfortable as you can.
But Paul reminds us that at any time, your tent can come down. “The earthly tent we live in is destroyed.” We live in a beautiful and pleasant world. Many joys! Many things give happiness and pleasure. And God gave them all to us to enjoy. So, He tells us enjoy! But it doesn’t take much time for the joy and happiness of this world to turn into tragedy, or grief, or pain. A family vacation trip, suddenly turns into a life and death struggle for someone we love because of a foolish driver’s momentary lack of attention. A day of celebration with our family, and when we come home is a message that Grandma fell, is in the hospital and it doesn’t look good. A glorious day at the beach, and that evening we suffer because too much sun, and not enough sunscreen. Our world here is a tent, that can easily be dismantled, and destroyed.
And if this were all that we had from God, then it would truly be a disaster. But this world is not all that we have from our God. As beautiful and as pleasant as this world can be, God has an even more beautiful and an even more pleasant world waiting for us in heaven. And as fickle and as changing as our world can be, and as easy it is for our earthly dwelling to be damaged, and threatened, it’s nice to know that we have a permanent home in Heaven. As beautiful as our world is, God tells us, “What’s waiting for you will knock your socks off!”
“We have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” Not a temporary dwelling place. A permanent home! Not a flimsy tent! But a building, that doesn’t move. A permanent dwelling place. In Heaven! Where there are no more accidents, and no more life-threatening diseases, and no more anguish, and no more pain, and no more worry. We have a home where the plumbing never needs repairing, where tornadoes and floods never threaten, where even the lightbulbs never need to be changed! We have a permanent home in Heaven, with our name on the deed, and our name on the mailbox.
And how do we go about getting such a home? How much is this going to cost us? Nothing! There’s nothing you need to do, because there is nothing you can do to get it! There is no way you can afford to pay the price to get your name on the deed. That’s why Paul tells us, “We have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” Some people think that this house of ours in heaven is built by the good things we do for God. Each good work we do is one more brick, one more window, one more set of cupboards. And as soon as we have done enough good works to get our house built, then the Lord will take us home and present us with our brand-new home, built by our hands, and built by our good works.
Paul says, “That is the most ridiculous thing ever!” First of all, even the best good work we could ever do, couldn’t buy us one brick in that new home. And then Paul says, this home was “not built by human hands.” The construction of this permanent house in heaven had nothing to do with the things you’ve done. It was built by God. Every last brick! Every last window! Every last shingle!
The work began when God kept His promise to Adam and Eve and sent His Son, Jesus, into this earth to crush the serpent’s head. The work continued when Jesus lived a perfect life on this earth; to do what we should have done, but couldn’t. And then the work continued when Jesus died on a cross, not because the religious leaders outsmarted Jesus, but because that was the way Jesus would be the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world. And the work on that house finally finished when Jesus rose from the dead, destroying the power of death and crushing Satan. And that house became yours on the day that the Holy Spirit brought you to faith. From that day on, you have a permanent home in Heaven! Your name is on the deed! Your name is on the mail box! That house belongs to you!
That’s why Paul tells us, “Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” While we are living in our tent in this world, we groan and are burdened. Oh, not all the time. But a lot of the time. We feel the hurts! We see the anguish! We are devastated by the burdens. And then we think about what is waiting for us in Heaven. And we groan even more. And we long to be at home in Heaven. Sometimes, in those dark hours, our only hope is that HEAVEN IS OUR HOME!
II
But as we sit there longing for our permanent home in Heaven, Paul reminds us that we’re still living in this world, we are still living in our tent, we are still on temporary duty on this earth.
“So, we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” In heaven we will worship, praise, and glorify our God constantly. And Paul says, we are to do the same while we are still in this earth. There is a reason God still has this on earth.
A lot of older people will tell me, “I don’t know why I’m still here! I can’t do anything for God! I’m just taking up space. I don’t see why He doesn’t just take me home to Heaven.” And the only answer I can give them is, “I don’t know why God still has you here on this earth either. But God has a reason. For if your work for Him was done, He would have taken you home a long time ago. So, obviously there’s stuff He needs you to do, stuff only you can do. That’s why you’re still here on temporary duty assignment.
So, how do we know what the Lord wants us to do? Well, unless God gives you a vision like He did for His apostles, we will never know exactly! So, the only thing we can do is what Paul tells us to do, “make it our goal to please him.” Do what the Lord wants! Follow what He tells us in His Word! Worship and praise Him in church. Worship and praise Him at home. And then take Jesus with you wherever you go in this world. Give thanks to God for His blessings when good things happen to you. Give thanks and praise to God when bad things happen to you. Love people the way God asks us to. Treat people the way God asks us to! Forgive people the way God forgave you. In everything you do, and everything you say, in the way you carry yourself, let other people be able to see the face of Jesus in everything you do!
Like everyone else in this world, we will groan and we will have burdens as our tent is threatened. But unlike everyone else in the world, even though we groan, we have peace, and comfort. We have joy that will never end. Even death cannot trouble us. Because we know that one day we will be trading in our little tent, for a mansion in Heaven. We know that even though we are on TDY on this earth, HEAVEN IS OUR HOME!
