“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," (v1-2)
Paul opens this chapter talking about our future home in heaven where we will spend eternity. He compares our earthly bodies to a tent but our heavenly bodies to a building. The tent is temporary, and meager but also portable and valuable. Compared to the more eternal substance of a strong, unmovable building, however, the tent is lacking. Paul reminds us that our lives and circumstances are temporary and we are not designed to be comfortable remaining in our earthly, imperfect bodies. We are designed for more....so much more. We are designed for heavenly bodies and dwelling with God Almighty. As Christians, there is an unrest, an uneasiness that naturally dwells within us, and the more we know Jesus, the more we should long to be with him.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (v17) How easy it is to get "bogged down" in our flesh, our earthly failures, our inadequacies. If we had to change ourselves, we would certainly fail. How amazing it is, however, to be remade, transformed, renewed because Christ is at work in us. There are many references in the Bible about this " newness " given through Christ.
And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 11:19-20)
He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit(Titus 3:5)
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4)
God wants us to share this " message of reconciliation" with others so that they too can be given the gift of " being made new" and having an eternal Heavenly body someday. We are given the important task of representing God as His "ambassadors".
“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." ( v 18-20)
What is your life characterized by? Do you stay " bogged down" in the old failures of your imperfect flesh or do you " walk in newness of life" where Christ is at work transforming you? What do people see reflected in your life? Are you His ambassador? Do they see "the new" in you? Do they see Christ in you?