A Building Made By God

We know that the earthly tent we live in will be destroyed. But we have a building made by God. It is a house in heaven that lasts forever. Human hands did not build it.

During our time on earth we groan. We long to put on our house in heaven as if it were clothing. Then we will not be naked.

While we live in this tent of ours, we groan under our heavy load. We don't want to be naked. We want to be dressed with our house in heaven. What must die will be swallowed up by life.

God has made us for that very purpose. He has given us the Holy Spirit as a down payment. The Spirit makes us sure of what is still to come.

So here is what we can always be certain about. As long as we are at home in our bodies, we are away from the Lord. We live by believing, not by seeing. We are certain about that. We would rather be away from our bodies and at home with the Lord. So we try our best to please him. We want to please him whether we are at home in our bodies or away from them.

We must all stand in front of Christ to be judged. Each one of us will be judged for the good things and the bad things we do while we are in our bodies. Then each of us will receive what we are supposed to get.

We know what it means to have respect for the Lord. So we try to help other people to understand it.

What we are is plain to God. I hope it is also plain to your way of thinking.

2 Corinthians 5:1-11

After this life, we will meet our Lord at the gates of heaven. We all must face judgment before the seat of Christ. We will not enter that future evaluation fearful of losing our salvation, nor will we desire personal benefit or human approval.

The challenge before us as followers of Christ is to serve Him with excellence now so that we can hear His words, “Well done,’ then.

Service done well here on earth will receive a “Well done” in heaven.

Our Daily Bread – January 4, 2010