This is part of a series. You can read the introduction first or view all the posts together.
2 Corinthians 4 and 5 offer immense comfort in the midst of earthly suffering, and have been very near to my heart over the past ten months. I had taught on the passage to a small group of high school girls a few years ago, which seared it into my mind almost the point of memory–and as it has come to possess so much more immediacy to me now, I am amazed at how God provided for my then-future need of encouragement so far ahead of time! It never fails to astonish me when I see how something I thought was relatively insignificant at the time turns out to be a really major thing God was doing for the future. How awesome God is!
In reference to my seventh reason for wanting to go to heaven, i.e., “This Old Tent,” three verses from chapter five are most obvious:[bibleblock]2 Corinthians 5:2-4[/bibleblock]”This tent,” in context, refers to our bodies. Our fallen bodies. And in them we are groaning and waiting for the “redemption of our bodies” ([bible]Romans 8:23[/bible]). I think there are at least two dimensions to this–that which Paul expounds in 2 Corinthians 4, which seems to speak quite clearly (if not exclusively) of physical suffering due to being in an earthly body, i.e. persecution, also “wasting away,” which strikes a chord, I think, with anyone who’s aware of the fact that they’re dying, be it of disease or old age; and spiritual suffering due to being in an earthly body, as Paul expounds in Romans 7 and 8, for instance in 7:18, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.”
In Heaven, we will be clothed in heavenly bodies–”our heavenly dwelling,” to quote the verse above. I love way Paul uses his vocabulary here–the word translated as “tent” means hut or temporary residence; the word translated “dwelling” means architecture or structure. From the very beginning, these bodies we’re living in weren’t built to be our permanent home! It’s easy to forget that and get upset when the roof starts to leak. The reality, though, is that when our little tents get too worn down to be usable shelters anymore, we get to move into real houses! I think that if we looked at life as a camping trip, we’d be rejoicing when our tents started to show signs of wear and tear–because with every new sign of deterioration, we’re one step closer to getting some seriously superior structure to live in. 
The other side of this, of course, is that in heaven we won’t be contending with the flesh anymore. Physically speaking, we won’t have tiredness battling with our desire to worship God in the morning, we won’t have our bodies’ faulty chemistry enticing us to depressed periods, and we won’t ever fall asleep in church! And spiritually speaking, our “body of death” ([bible]Romans 7:24[/bible]) which still holds us “captive to the law of sin” ([bible]Romans 7:23[/bible]) is going to be gone forever! [bible]1 John 3:2[/bible] says that when Christ “appears, we shall be like him”! [bible]1 Corinthians 15:51-52[/bible] says that “we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” [bible]Philippians 3:21[/bible] says that Christ “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” Our sin nature will be gone.
I can’t adequately understand the magnitude of that thought. No more sin. No more inclination to sin. We’re all born sinners, and God by His grace creates new hearts within us–but still none of us alive know what it’s like to be freed of our fallen flesh. But in heaven, we’ll know fully!
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.
O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace!
[from “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”]
