This is not Your Best Life

“The mortal will be swallowed up in ________”. Most people think that “death” is the word that completes that sentence. However, in 2 Corinthians 5:4, the apostle Paul says that the mortal will be swallowed up by “life”. That seems like an odd word choice, but the point is that death is not the end. Rather, death is the beginning of our real and best life.

To illustrate, Paul says, “We know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal home, not built by hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1). For anyone who has ever gone tenting, this comparison makes sense.

I love tenting! I think that is great that you can take your entire sleeping quarters and roll them up into a tiny ball. Tenting is really fun - for about three days. After that, sleeping on the ground does not seem fun anymore. Walking a block or more to get water or to go to the washroom becomes inconvenient. A tent makes you feel like you are outside in the elements even when you are inside, so you notice the wind and the cold a lot more. In the end, it is nice to go home to a solid structure that has running water, soft beds and heat. Tenting is ok, but is not as good as your real home.

Similarly, Paul is not saying that this life is meaningless or bad. In fact, there are many good things to be enjoyed here. It’s just that this life is not all that there is and it is not even the best life that we will experience. We make a huge mistake when we say, “Live your best life” as if being self-indulgent here is going to make us happy. It never does, because temporary things cannot provide permanent happiness. We were created to live for something much bigger and better than ourselves.

Therefore, our focus is not to be on the tent that we see, but rather on heaven and the much better home that we do not yet see. That new home will not be a temporary, wind-blown and cold tent-like structure, but rather a permanent, solid, wonderful place built by God. Understanding that one truth changes how we approach everything else.

“We walk by faith, not sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

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