Temporary Tents

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 5:1-5 ESV).

 

Mary and I love to travel. However, we have never really “camped.” By that I mean we never stayed the night in a tent. Mary has an aversion to sleeping anywhere without a door that locks. Even in the early days of the deer camp in Brushy Creek, Texas, I could not convince her to stay inside the “cabin” my friends and I built. It didn’t have a door that locked! The one time she went for the night, we simply slept in the Suburban. After all, those doors locked. I must say that I could get used to spending the night in a tent in an area like that I’ve pictured today, regardless of whether the door locked or not!

 

Well, not all of us have the same “standards” when it comes to our “tents.” The Apostle Paul uses this image in our reading today. He is talking about our physical bodies though. He calls them the tent of our earthly bodies” (v. 1). This week we continue to look at the first candle of Advent, which is “hope.” Perhaps there is no greater need for hope than when we begin to think of our mortality. Death is a stark reminder of just how temporary these bodies we occupy really are.

 

The apostle Paul offers a fitting perspective on this passing. He points out that this life and body are temporary, and our whole being yearns for its permanent dwelling in heaven. When believers in Christ take their last breath, they are swallowed up by life and not death. Our camping adventure in these earthly tents is over, and we move into a new place that Jesus has prepared for us (cf. John 14:2).

 

Life in these tents can be rich and full as God grants us joy in worship, relationships, work, and witness. But this is just a foretaste of the glory that awaits us; and, the Spirit of God guarantees it for our future. Remember as you realize the frailty of these “earthly tents” that we will soon be taking up residence with God! We do not grieve as people without hope, for we believe the best is yet to come!