September 1, 2022

Dear Church Family

If you’ve been camping much, especially “tent” camping, you know the temporary nature of a campsite. You set it up quickly and it comes down just as fast. You stay there for a little while, but you don’t live there. You know as dirty and tired as you get, you’re going home to a warm shower and soft bed. I was reminded of this as I was reading through 2 Corinthians 5.

2 Corinthians 5:1–5 (ESV) 
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. 4 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. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

This was a great picture for me of where my hope needs to be. This applies to the painful things of life and the earthly bodies we are in. Our bodies are made to wear out and no matter what we face, we’re going home someday. This should give us hope!
This also applies to how we invest. As permanent as this life seems, it won’t last. It would be foolish to spend a whole camping trip building a permanent structure only to leave it behind. In the same way, it is foolish to set our hopes in this life and not the life to come.
What are you facing today? Remember, you’re going home and you’re going to leave this earthly tent behind. What are you investing in today? Remember where your true hope and eternal home is.