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. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked.
Tents are not meant to be permanent dwellings. That is what makes our ministry to those without permanent shelter so heartbreaking. For them, the tent is all there is. Paul used the metaphor of the tent to remind the Corinthians of a truth they already knew. The tent that is our body is a temporary dwelling as we wait for the eternal house made by God, not man. Paul’s contrast of temporary and permanent continues from chapter 3. The groaning in this life, and the Corinthians would face the groans of persecution soon enough, is nothing compared to the worship we will lavish on the King when we will be wearing wedding garments, not naked.
Come to Cape Community Church tomorrow and we will see how joyful it is to await the eternal in our temporary tents. Many of us have tents that are failing and need repair. Praise the Lord that we have a heavenly dwelling to look forward to once we have shaken off this “mortal coil”, as Shakespeare called it. Come and see that, far from being found naked in shame and embarrassment, we have the confidence of our calling in Christ. We will be clothed in the royal garments of an heir to the King.
Dear Lord, thank you for the invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb. may we be found in our wedding garments, ready to celebrate! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church