An Upgrade from a Tent

Full disclosure: I’m not a big fan of camping.  I’ve slept in tents, cabins, and other structures at various times in my life (and for various reasons), but I’m a big fan of creature comforts.  However, after roughing it for a few days, there’s a special appreciation for a familiar bed (instead of a sleeping bag), a closet (instead of a suitcase), my own kitchen and refrigerator (instead of whatever gets cooked for me), and sometimes, my own bathroom.

Paul describes a source of hope for the Corinthian church, in the start of 2 Corinthians chapter 5.

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
2 Corinthians 5:1 NIV

https://2corinthians.bible/2-corinthians-5-1

So, this “earthly tent” appears to be our bodies, which we live in for a while, but which – unlike our souls – aren’t suitable “homes” for spending an eternity with God.

If we think back to the time of the patriarchs, when people like Abraham lived in tents and even the tabernacle was a tent, I think that we can relate to the idea of a tent being a temporary dwelling: one that can be packed up and relocated.

Today, we probably think of tents in the same way, whether it’s going camping, or portable living spaces for those without a home.  We might also compare our human bodies – which are temporary, being only good for one lifetime – to a camper (if you’re not into totally roughing it), or even a hotel room that we stay in for a few days.  These places where we live temporarily have a purpose, and they allow us to experience life in a certain way, but they aren’t generally intended as permanent dwellings, to put down roots and establish a history in a particular place.

I think that this reality is evident to us when we see people who have to live in a tent in the park, or sleep in their car, or are huddled underneath some cardboard in a doorway at night.  We understand that these people are “homeless” or “unhoused”, and that this isn’t ideal.  (Depending on our attitude, we may desire to help them or we may pity them, but I hope that we don’t judge them.  After all, God loves them and they need Jesus, just as much as we do.  How to best show God’s love to those in this situation is a topic for another day, though.)

So, let’s postulate that this “earthly tent” is our physical body, which will be “destroyed” [NIV] or “torn down” [NASB] eventually, just as Paul’s body had taken plenty of abuse when he wrote this letter, and it eventually gave out.  (Tradition says that he was beheaded during the time of Emperor Nero.)

However, there was something in this verse that caught my attention: this earthly tent is contrasted with “a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands”.  It sounds like this “mansion” that we look forward to may be our new bodies.  Maybe our living arrangements in eternity don’t include both, 1) a body like the ones that we have now, and 2) a mansion that we “own” as our private home.  Maybe our new bodies won’t even need a house to live in: perhaps they will be better than our physical bodies because they will be eternal and because we will be home with God, like a house is better suited to become our long-term home than a tent is.  Just a thought…

From Sunday School lesson prepared for May 19, 2024

References:

• The Lookout, May 19, 2024, © 2024 Christian Standard Media.
• Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
• Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
• The College Press NIV Commentary – 2 Corinthians, by William R. Baker.  © 1999 College Press Publishing Co.