Groaning For Our Hope!

Enduring life can become drudgery. We are often times so nearsighted in the present, that we are blinded to the hope of eternity. Paul has some encouraging words for us:

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened–not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 5:1-5

Here he describes this present body as a tent. Certainly the idea Paul is trying describe is that of temporary, fleeting, and transient maybe.
Our present body was fashioned by God to be temporary for our good! The everyday aches and pains can serve us by reminding us that our present TENT is temporary. This does not, however, relieve us of our present responsibilities. In fact, it is a fuel for us to endure the present as we groan for the hope of a glorified body.
The temporal state of our tent was designed by God to cause us to groan for the eternal dwelling, for we were made for eternity. Paul declares that this is the source of his renewal:

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16

May we endure as we groan for the hope of a building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens!