April 20

2 Corinthians 5:2 (NIV)
2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,

4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

It seems to me that most of the groaning in this life, at least in the west, is more about how our life is and how we want the newer, bigger, nicer… and don’t have it. That doesn’t mean we can’t want the new ___________ (fill in the blank), but if we are groaning because we don’t have it, aren’t we a little crazy – ahhh… I mean, out of perspective? Maybe there is more groaning about the things we have to do like go to work or eat right or studying, I don’t know. Ok, so my groaning has to do with the stress in my life, (most self induced) and that is exactly what Paul is talking about. Not the self induced stress that we have because we don’t know how to live simply, but the groaning or sighing that is produced by the stress of this life. Our problem is that we want to be stress free, not groaning anymore by going to Jamaica on vacation (I highly recommend it) or by winning the lotto (being rich), or having the newest whatever that will help streamline our lives – bleaackkkk!

All the stress in life, the physical maladies, the corruption all around us should be producing is our LONGING for heaven. We DO long for heaven. We long for the time that our mortality is swallowed up by life! It’s just that we have all of this “stuff” thrown at us that we forget what citizenship we truly have. Our joy isn’t in a Mediterranean cruise vacation, (although that would be nice), it is in our complete redemption! Until then, we have His manifest presence that we can enjoy. In fact, maybe if we (especially I) got in the very Presence of God more often and stayed longer, I would care less about escaping to Jamaica and long to be clothed with immortality in His face to face Presence.