2 Corinthians 5:1-10 - New Bodies 1 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 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.[a] 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
As believers in Jesus Christ, we are assured of our salvation. We need not fear eternity, because we know that we will dwell with the Lord forever in paradise. What blessed assurance!
But salvation is about more than just getting into heaven. It’s about the process of becoming increasingly Christlike while living on earth. In fact, we’ll someday be asked to account for the way we used our opportunities, abilities, and resources.
In His parable of the talents, Jesus shared the importance of investing wisely all that our Father has bestowed on us. God gives His children different types and amounts of wealth, gifts, blessings, and circumstances. What matters to the Lord is the way we make use of them, not how much we have. Do we live selfishly, utilizing all He has given us for our own good and protection? Or do we generously and cheerfully take what we have and use it to serve Christ? These are the questions that Christians will answer at the believers’ judgment.
Of course, this accountability will not be the basis for our spending eternity in heaven (that issue is settled when we trust Christ). Rather, we will be rewarded for the way we invested our lives. And if we did not spend our time and resources wisely, we will experience loss.
Consider your blessings. How do you utilize all that the heavenly Father has bestowed upon you—namely, time, abilities, and finances? Each one of us must choose how we are going to live. It is our responsibility to be faithful servants of the living God, doing whatever He calls us to do.
5 comments:
Romans 14:12 captures it as well. "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." Pretty clear I'd say. Now to strive to make my remaining days on this planet as Christlike as possible.
cas
This is a topic that I've encountered in one of my Bible Studies. It's a sobering one. I'm often committed to living in comfort. It's a challenge to go against the grain of my natural desire and 'work out my salvation with fear and trembling'.
This is a good reminder to not be selfish. I like what trm said about living out your salvation with fear & trembling. I need to do that more and more.
I think i often forget that i will have to stand before God and give an account of my life. In my Bible study we talk about all of the ways we measure ourselves -particularly at work (did sales numbers meet budget, earnings, etc). there are all sorts of metrics we look at. but the ah ha for me has been what metrics am i using to measure my spiritual life? and those metrics far outweigh any other metrics i could think of to measure myself.
To work out your salvation with fear and trembling means to be careful not to forget what you've been saved from. I tend to forget about the hell that exists and that I've been saved from. I also tend to forget what I've been saved for, i.e. to do the good works that God has designed for me to do.
Let's remember the chains that we have been released from, and let's live out loud our thankfulness in humility.
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