2 Corinthians 5-- Life in the Tent

A group of us guys from church were on a camp out. We had a great evening and had settled into our tents when a storm came through. When you are in nothing but a canvass tent even the slightest rain seems torrential, but we did get a pretty heavy rain that night. My tent was waterproof and kept everything inside dry. Some of the other guys, however, didn't fare as well. Their tents leaked all night. Camping was a fun experience (at least for us with the dry tents!), but not something we would want to do every day . Paul in this chapter uses the metaphor of tent camping to describe our life, particularly our bodies (vv1-8). He reminds us how temporal our bodies are. There is more to our existence than just the few years we spend on this earth. There is eternity and we need to prepare for it. As believers, God will judge our works in order to reward us (vv9-11). How do we prepare for that moment and maximize our rewards? First and foremost we must live for God. "Those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." It is shifting the focus off from us and onto God. Then, we can take on our role as ambassadors of Christ and help reconcile others to the Lord (vv18-21). Let's never forget that we are just living in a tent. There is something better, something permanent, coming.
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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com. If you would like to share a comment about today's blog, you may do so at www.maxpoint.org/message_board.