November 29
November 29
Living with eternity in view means living with a tent mentality.
I tell my camping friends that the whole purpose of camping is to make you long for home. You start out enthusiastically, imagining spending time with your family or friends in the great outdoors. You arrive at your campsite, put up the tent, gather firewood, and enjoy your first night. But, about three days in, you find it harder to find firewood, your back hurts from sleeping without your mattress, and your tent doesn’t smell so good. You’re getting near the end of your supplies, and wondering whether what is left is edible. It’s hot and sticky, which makes sleeping difficult, and as you lie down to sleep, you begin to dream of home. You think of the convenience of your stove, the luxury of your mattress, and the comfort of air conditioning. You long for home.
The apostle Paul likens us to tent dwellers:
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, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (2 Cor. 5:1–5)
Paul’s word picture in this passage is important. Everything in the here and now is temporary. This isn’t our final destination. A day is coming when we will be at home with the Lord. So, as the children of God, it’s important that we not think of this life with a destination mentality. What does this mean? We don’t live as though this is all we have, that this is our final destination. Therefore we don’t strive to experience all the pleasures and comforts we can get our hands on, and we don’t get mad at God when life is uncomfortable. We don’t work to build a big pile of earthy possessions, and we don’t get mad at God when he chooses to provide only for our daily needs and little more. We don’t live for power, acclaim, or control, and we don’t question the goodness of God when we have none of these.
Rather, we live with a tent mentality. We recognize that this present life is temporary, because an eternal home has been prepared for us. So in every area of our lives we live with eternity in view. We don’t allow ourselves to be controlled by the pursuit of money, family, sex, career, material possessions, or any other earthly thing, because, by grace, we are going home.
The Christian life is a temporary time of preparation for the final destination that is guaranteed to all God’s children. Do you live with a tent mentality, or do you live as though this were your final home?