2 Corinthians 5

http://www.esvbible.org/2+Corinthians+5/

One day, our mortal bodies will all die. It is a fact. Paul compares them to taking down a tent and moving into a house. If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, then we have somewhere to go after we take down our tents. We go home to our permanent houses after we leave our temporary tents. Paul says while we are in the tent we sigh because we are longing for the house that is waiting for us in heaven. The things we will find after death are beyond our wildest dreams. Paul also says, however, that we sigh while we are in the tents because we are afraid to leave our tents. When we think about death, it can be scary and sad. We are leaving behind everyone and everything we care about. Also, everyone goes through times when they question God: is this real? Am I right? Does God exist? And that is fine. because God is preparing us with the Holy Spirit. God says we can be confident in death because we know that as long as we are living in these bodies, we are living away from God. We live by faith and not sight. We can't see Heaven or God, but we have to have faith that He is there and is who he claims to be. We can't wait to move into the bodies that the Lord has made for us. Our goal in our Earthly bodies should be to please God because one day, when we move out of our Earthly bodies, we will all have to approach Christ's judgement seat and give an account for what we did in these Earthly bodies.

Paul says that God already knows what we are. If we brag for our character in Christ, we are not being harmful, but if we brag for our appearance or accomplishments, then the effort diminishes Christ's role in our lives and proves harmful. Paul says that if he was crazy it was for God, and if he was sane, it was for the people he tried to reach. When we worship God in a personal way, we can go crazy. Dance for the Lord while you sing, or lift your hands, or do whatever it is that makes you feel closest to Him. But when you are teaching people about God, be sane. Teach in a way that they will understand. We should be driven by Christ's love in all things we do. We are convinced that one man died for us, so our lives are not our own, and we should live them for the man who died for us. We can't live in the old way anymore. That means both the way we lived before we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior and in the ways of the Jewish laws. We can't live from any human point of view because we know the Jesus was not just human, especially after He ascended to Heaven. A new way of living exists when we believe. We must do away with our old ways. Also, Jesus came and overturned the old ways of the world. God did all of this. He did all of this this to restore our relationship with Him through Christ Jesus. God isn't holding our faults against us. That's amazing! He has so much that he can blame us for and punish us for, but He would rather put that all on His son who He loves dearly so that we may live with God again. Additionally, Jesus came through all of that. He came out on the other side just as clean and Holy as ever, with only the scars to prove that what He'd done was true. He conquered death so that we could follow His example. We are also called to tell others about this incredible event. We are His ambassadors to all of the unreached people of the world. God is calling you. Are you listening?