week of 12/12/11 4th recorded HighQuest II Corinthians 5:1-10

The passage I read was II Corinthians 5:1-10

You can find that passage here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+5%3A1-10&version=NIV

The verse that most stood out to me:

⁸ We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

As I reflect:

I not only look forward to but long for that day when I step out of this temporal and into the eternal with my beloved Savior. As hard as this life may at times seem (especially when compared to my eternal home), I am thankful that there is comfort and promise in having God’s Holy Spirit here with me. He is a reminder of things to come; a comforting experience in knowing that one day I will be face to face and able to look upon His eyes with mine own. How I long for that day. I thought briefly on verses 2-4 being unclothed and how uncomfortable that is. I pictured standing naked in the hallways of a busy high school (you all know the nightmare). I thought about how that feels; that it is something that though I haven’t experienced, I can imagine would be immensely uncomfortable and out of my normal element. I would not feel at home in that setting. I would struggle to function if I were naked in front of all my friends and strangers alike. It would hinder me greatly. I think it is a good comparison to this temporary life in quite a few ways. I do often feel those same things about this life because it is so foreign to who I am in Christ. It is as though everyone wears selfish unrighteousness and disrespect/hatred toward God, but I am in a much different garment and it causes much laughter, mocking, and insults from those in this life. My garment doesn’t look like there’s. It is much like the contrast of being naked in comparison and I find so very few that share in this difficulty because they too take up their cross daily and wear a robe that is not like that of the world. How true Paul’s words are here as he compares our temporary lives here to being unclothed. I too look forward to going home, to a place where these beliefs and characteristics are worn be all. A place where we all share a common denominator; we will all live for and love our Messiah and King.

But for now, I/we are here and though we long to be home in Heaven with our Lord whom we serve, we must walk by faith in this life until that glorious day. We walk trusting in the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. We often have to close our eyes to the mockery that surrounds us and simply trust the Lord with every step that we not stumble and fall. Though we prefer to be at home with our Lord, because we are here in this dark place, we make it our mission to not be lame or idle. We therefore make the best use of this time given to us by serving the Lord with our actions. We know that one day we will give an account of every though, word, and action before our God, and though our greatest gifts be as filthy rags to Our Perfect King, may we recount good deeds on that final day and have some reward as we stand before the judgment seat.

“Have you experienced great blessing from the Holy Spirit in your life now? Consider that if the down payment is this glorious, think of how great the whole gift will be!” – David Guzik

My response to the Lord:

My Father in Heaven, that I long to be at home with you is an understatement of great proportion. That I complain to you of my great discomfort here seems so very out of place in light of the turmoil and pain inflicted upon your Son for my sake. None the less, I do experience a discomfort not unlike being without clothes in front of many. I am thankful though that you walk with me, talk with me, teach me, and guide my every step. At times, when I think about and focus only on You, I almost feel home. It’s not unlike being in pain but closing your eyes and picturing a place that is pleasant and for a moment no matter how brief, having that pain subside. My Father, I do not mean that I am in pain or agony of any kind, for you have certainly provided abundantly the blessings that surround me. I only mean that in comparison to my eternal home, when I might live eternally in your light and presence, this place feels so far and dark. I long for home. I look forward to nothing more that your embrace Jehovah-Shalom; my Lord of Peace.