Thoughts for the Day

So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For all of us must appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.

For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

Thoughts

I once possessed a satnav and followed it when travelling to an unknown address. All went well until it took me to a flooded ford and I nearly ended up in deep water. So I shifted over to using Google maps on my phone (which can be corrected by other drivers), and it was much better. If I go wrong, well it's usually me ignoring the instructions.

Our lectionary is looking at how to live the Christian life with the help of the Holy Spirit. Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians says our bodies are frail, can easily be damaged, and are ravaged by sin. They are temporary homes for our soul since our real home is with God. When we travel away from our earthly home we can become homesick, in the same way our soul becomes homesick for its home with God. We are aware there's something missing from this life, even if we're not quite sure what it is.

One day we shall have an eternal body untouched by sin. In the meantime how are we to live our present life on earth as we wait for the future? Paul's answer is to say "with courage". We are to keep doing the work given to us by God - with hope and with joy - through the power of the Holy Spirit. Whatever our experiences we should go on longing for our real home in heaven, for the glory we will experience then will far outweigh all the trials and tribulations of this life.

As Christians on this earth Paul says we have to walk by faith not by sight. We cannot know all about the life to come, but we can have faith in the words of our Lord, that he died to give us eternal life. When I get things wrong in this life it's always me not following the instructions, in this case of Jesus.

Lord Jesus Christ,
while waiting to go to our real home,
may we seek to help others
in our temporary home on earth.
You have taught us to love all people
as You love them.
Help us to use our time and
our talents wisely,
as we wait Your call to come home.
Amen.