View from a Tent
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“For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.” (2 Corinthians 5:1, NLT)
One year, our small group decided that we should all go camping for a weekend. My husband and I were not thrilled with the idea. Taking four little boys camping wasn’t high on our list of things we wanted to do. But we decided we needed to be “good” group members and participate. Can I just say, it was one of the worst weekends I’ve ever had!
Have you ever been in a tent with four little boys? Just in case you don’t get it, let me explain. There’s the cooking over an open fire – definitely not convenient! The dirt! The clean up with no running water! The dirt! The humidity and no air conditioner! The dirt! No electricity! The dirt!!!
And then there was the sleeping or lack of it.
My husband and I were smart (or so we thought). We brought an air mattress so we wouldn’t have to lie on the tent floor but what we didn’t bring was an extra blanket to put on top of the air mattress to keep the cold air from seeping through. I lay awake most of the night dreaming of my nice, warm, soft, comfortable bed.
My thoughts went something like this, “This is nuts!!! My bed is forty-five minutes from here. I have a house with air-conditioning, running water, flushing toilets and no DIRT and we choose to be here! We even paid money to stay here! Something is seriously wrong with this picture. We must be insane!”
Look at 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 (The Message):
“For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.”
When it comes to spiritual tenting I feel the same way as I do about camping. I don’t like living in a tent! I long for my real home, the home where Jesus is. I long for the place where I can have a face to face conversation with Him, where there is no more sorrow and no more tears. I want to be where the pain of this life is a distant memory, where I will have the answers, where I’ll see the loved ones who’ve gone on before me and where there is peace. I long for my REAL HOME, don’t you?
I love the last sentence of this passage, “God has put a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.” He gave us the Holy Spirit to remind us that this is not our home, and to teach us not to settle for anything less. But it’s easy to lose sight of the “little bit of heaven” that God has placed within our hearts. We often find ourselves, day by day, settling for so much less than God intended.
Isn’t it funny how we get so distracted with our tent? We decorate it, “fix it up” and try to disguise it so that it won’t look and feel too much like a tent and yet it doesn’t change a thing. Oh, the time we waste focusing on the temporal instead of the eternal.
Let me ask you, are you settling for less? Have you spent so much time focusing on your “tent” that you have lost sight of your real home? Have you forgotten that you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you? Let God whet your appetite with a taste of what’s up ahead and never, never, never settle for anything less!
Father in Heaven, When I get frustrated and tired, when I’m confused or lost or lonely, remind me that there is more going on than I can see. Comfort me with the promise that there will come a day when I will see you face to face. May the hope of heaven be a light in my circumstances today. Amen
6 Responses to “View from a Tent”
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I agree everyone! This is an awesome analogy.
Shirley, what a great picture, of the lantern in the tent! I remember those times only too well! And what a great reminder that we truly need to keep an eye on eternity, or as another author put it, always live with eternity in our hearts. This really is only a temporary dwelling place.
Patricia, such a good question…..why do we settle for this life when so much more awaits us in heaven. I think that as we lose loved ones heaven becomes much more real and we begin to put things back in perspective. I know that has been true for me.
What an excellent analogy to show that our earthly home is but a shadow of the Eternal Home in Heaven that our Father has prepared for us! Earth is indeed dirty, even if we could live in the luxurious opulence and grandeur of Buckingham Palace, compared with the Palace of Heaven (the Mansion that He has prepared for us – John 14:1)!
I used to go camping when I was a Girl Guide and I certainly would NOT recommend it at all! Once it rained all weekend we were there, and a bull got loose and went on the rampage, damaging some of the tents, which had to be repaired! Why on earth do folk want this lifestyle, ostensibly for a holiday, instead of the comfort of a proper bed and a roof over their heads? So indeed, why do we settle so readily for, and focus on, this life and have so little perception of what awaits us in Heaven!?
i am reminded of times past when we camped,while we were inside the tent at night we had to have a lantern on. well anyone on the outside could see us moving around inside. watching every move we made. its kinda like that while we are here(our temporary tent)we need to leave the light on (Christ) the inside so we can see,but also “so those stumbling around in the dark world” can see which direction to go.this temporary tent has a purpose until it is folded up and put away. how blessed we are ~keep an eye on eternity. we have so much to look forward to …
when i read this i thought about my marriage and a relationship do we settle for a wife for certain asspect of the relationship…how this person builds you up…ok for example we complain but we tolerate certain thngs about this person….are we more passive about certain things??? when it comes to camping and the house is you heart and what you want and what you get
does all of this make any sense???
when i go camping i explore all the things God has made ….i recently went to lake convict it was awesome….i was dating someone and i wasnt happy with who i was with cause there was sooo much drama and emotions and that bothered me so i could not be amazed by Gods work i could not relax in him…..i was still thinking of my ex that i wanted to feel her love and have her conversation and taking her in certain moments of life….just to relax and care for the beauty of life…i long to have that type of relationship do i have it with God im goin to have to say no…i feel i need it….but does it matter that im not yoked with a believer and i feel that is a sin im not sure it is ….being with a catholic woman is not the best idea in the world…and her not believing in the God that i know makes me uneasy and make me feel that i a camping in a place that i dont wanna be but on the other hand i dont feel my ex was a different camping site and that was not the best cause she was catholic too…but like this devotion says we need to have nothing but the best for us to we have to raise our standards higher…and that means i need to think like God cause he wants better for me….
Hi Kristi! Love this analogy as I’m an outdoors girl! I may love camping but I certainly have days I long to be in my REAL HOME. Praying to be satisfied with my current tent!
Many people in the world live like they are camping everyday with no electricity and running water. Imagine that with 4 little boys! Let’s all step out of our ‘comfort zone” and try to help one of these people. I challenge you! Look into makeway.org or check out new book by kimberly smith “passport through darkness.”