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“For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies…but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.”     2 Corinthians 5:1-4  (NLT)

When you were a child, did you ever consider getting old? Did you ever look in the mirror and imagine yourself being fifty, sixty, seventy, or even older? I didn’t, and I’ll bet you didn’t, either. But here I am, a great-grandmother. Would someone tell me how I got so old when I wasn’t paying attention?

Looking back on an active life, even ten years ago, I had plenty of energy to go to work all day, come home and cook dinner, clean the kitchen, do the laundry, and take care of other household chores. In addition, I led a weekly Bible study in my home and studied for that most every evening. Then on Saturdays, we often went boating or camping. Of course, I was tired by day’s end, but I somehow found the strength to keep going as long as I had to.

Now, facing my 76^th birthday, I find that life has turned a corner. I no longer go to work every day and no longer participate in weekend recreational activities. Over the years, I have had some troublesome internal organs removed, and I’ve broken several bones in auto accidents and falls. I long to take an afternoon nap – and sometimes do. This earthly “tent” is wearing out. I’m not the girl I used to be.

So do I consider myself to be dying? Not even close! And neither did Paul when he wrote his second letter to the Corinthians. As he said in  an earlier chapter, “Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.” A thumbs-up to that!

Paul, a tentmaker by trade, refers to the human body as an earthly tent, and compares death to the tent being taken down. He knew that the death of the body was the beginning of new life. I love it when he says these dying bodies “will be swallowed up by life.”

Swallowed up by life! What a glorious concept. The leaves on my family tree are getting fewer and fewer. Many of my relatives have gone on to be with Jesus. Several of our acquaintances succumbed to Covid, but we don’t have to think of them as “gone.” Instead, we can think of ourselves as temporarily “left behind,” and they – those who had been saved from the penalty of their sins by the sacrifice of Jesus – have been swallowed up by life!

Praise God!

“Dear Father, thank you for the gift of a forever life! Thank you for preparing a place for us, and for the guarantee of your Spirit, keeping us safe in Your care until we join You at home in heaven.”

For His Glory

Cherie Harbridge Williams
TRBC Women’s Life