God's Glory Church

“For we, being in this tent, sigh under the burden.” — 2 Corinthians 5:4

“The tent is tired!” This is the saying of my friend Paul, a pastor of a church in Nairobi (Kenya). Since 2015, the local community has been meeting in a tent-like structure. Paul wrote to me: “Our tent is worn out and leaks when it rains.”

My friend’s complaint about the age of their humble structure reminds me of the words of the Apostle Paul about the frailty of our earthly bodies. “Our outward man perishes… For we, being in this tent, groan under the burden” (2 Cor. 4:16; 5:4).

Although the awareness of the ephemerality of our existence in this world comes to us quite early, we really think about it only as we approach old age. The joie de vivre of youth reluctantly gives way to the realities of old age (see Ecclesiastes 12:1-7). Our bodies – our tents – get tired.

But the tiredness of the body does not mean the tiredness of the spirit. Hope and faith should not fade with age. “Therefore we do not grieve,” says the apostle Paul (2 Cor. 4:16). He who created our bodies dwelt in them with His Spirit. And when this body refuses to serve us, we will move into a home that is immune to disease and injury. We “have a building from God in heaven, a house not made with hands and eternal” (2 Cor. 5:1).

How do you feel when you remember that Christ lives in you by His Spirit (2 Cor. 5:5)? When you sigh, how does prayer help you?

Heavenly Father, thank you for your constant presence. As my body weakens, help me to trust in You as I wait to be transferred to an eternal home.

Author: Arthur Jackson