Year Two, October 15

We Would Rather Be Away From the Body and at Home With the Lord1

2 Corinthians 5

1For we know (Not just think or hope, but “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. (Our mud cottage will be demolished, but our heavenly home is prepared for us.) 2For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4For 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. (We cannot be satisfied here, because we are kept from the glory land and surrounded by sin. We wait excitedly for the voice of our beloved Lord to call, “Arise, my love, and come away.”2) 

 5He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (God is preparing us for heaven and has already given us the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of his promise.)

6So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (The exile longs to return to their own country. The child aches for their father’s house. And we pant for our own dear country beyond the river and sigh to be close to Jesus.) 9So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

With this in mind, we cannot afford to sin or treat our life as unimportant. We will live as we should if we live every day considering the last great day.

11Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. 12We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. 13For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. (The apostle did everything for Jesus and his church. If anyone found fault with what he did, he reminded them that his only motive was love for them.) 14For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. (The death of Jesus for us has made us think of ourselves as dead to everything and everyone except him, because we want to live for him alone.)

16From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. (Paul focused only on spiritual things. Even the fact that he had seen Jesus in person was no longer important, compared to seeing him by faith.) 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (Have we been made righteous like this? These verses are both wonderful and extremely important. Do we understand them by personal experience? Are we new creations in Christ? Have we been brought to peace with God through Jesus’ blood? Have we been blessed in Jesus and become one with him? These are questions that should be asked right now.)

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¹ 2 Corinthians 5:8

² From Song of Solomon 2:13