The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Corinthians 5:1-5,
"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."
Unlike other creatures, man has the capacity of self-awareness. This inevitably leads to a focus on ourselves and on the classic philosophical questions. Where do we come from? Where are we going? Why are we here? Etc. This self-awareness, at its worst, expresses itself in what Scripture calls our "sin nature" – a drive to satisfy base desires, self-gratification at the expense of those around us, behavior that sustains a chasm between us and our Creator. At its best, this self-awareness causes us to reflect on whether we are living our lives in a way that pleases our Creator, that we are expending the life we have been given on those things, which, at the end of life, we can look back on with satisfaction, hopefully, as a life well-lived.
To those who do not know God and the things of God, this self-awareness also brings an ultimate terror: the fear of death. The uncertainty of what lays beyond the grave. What will existence mean after death? What will it be like? And the greatest fear of all, possibly, is not knowing for sure there is any existence at all after death. How does one who has the capacity of self-awareness deal with the notion that self-existence may just cease? Surely there are few greater terrors than that!
Our God wants us to know that those who embrace Jesus Christ in faith have a wonderful life ahead of them following the grave! Here in this wonderful passage we are told that God "has made us for this very purpose"! We have "an eternal house", a resurrected body awaiting us! Knowing our need for assurance of this he has gone so far as to give us his Holy Spirit, who dwells in the very lives of believers, "as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come"! Just how wonderful is this?!
Unlike other creatures, man has the capacity of self-awareness. This inevitably leads to a focus on ourselves and on the classic philosophical questions. Where do we come from? Where are we going? Why are we here? Etc. This self-awareness, at its worst, expresses itself in what Scripture calls our "sin nature" – a drive to satisfy base desires, self-gratification at the expense of those around us, behavior that sustains a chasm between us and our Creator. At its best, this self-awareness causes us to reflect on whether we are living our lives in a way that pleases our Creator, that we are expending the life we have been given on those things, which, at the end of life, we can look back on with satisfaction, hopefully, as a life well-lived.
To those who do not know God and the things of God, this self-awareness also brings an ultimate terror: the fear of death. The uncertainty of what lays beyond the grave. What will existence mean after death? What will it be like? And the greatest fear of all, possibly, is not knowing for sure there is any existence at all after death. How does one who has the capacity of self-awareness deal with the notion that self-existence may just cease? Surely there are few greater terrors than that!
Our God wants us to know that those who embrace Jesus Christ in faith have a wonderful life ahead of them following the grave! Here in this wonderful passage we are told that God "has made us for this very purpose"! We have "an eternal house", a resurrected body awaiting us! Knowing our need for assurance of this he has gone so far as to give us his Holy Spirit, who dwells in the very lives of believers, "as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come"! Just how wonderful is this?!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment