SWALLOWED UP BY LIFE
By Steve Zeisler
Commenting on the anger and resentment that we have seen expressed throughout
the past week at the International Conference on AIDS, held in San Francisco,
the chief psychologist of the Center for AIDS Prevention at the University
of California Medical School said, "I contend that a large part of
the anger of AIDS activism, that loud screaming and yelling outside, is
grief. I further suggest that the cold resentment felt by many scientists
and doctors against the activists is repressed grief, unexpressed grief,
withheld grief."
First Thessalonians 4:13 gives an important perspective on grief for Christians.
Paul writes, "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those
who have fallen asleep, or to grieve like the rest of mankind which has
no hope." Christians should not grieve over death in the same way as
people who have no hope, those who have only this life and what it can offer
as the center of their experience. We, too, will experience grief, but it
must be a grief undergirded by hope.
Failed idols
The anger of the AIDS activists in San Francisco is expressed against the
gods of this age. Medical science has failed them. The promise of materialist
science is that the answers to all human problems can be discovered by brilliant
people diligently applying scientific principles. Because it has been held
up as a god, science comes under the angry rejection of those who say it
has not done enough. Government is another modern god, and government, too,
has been decried for its failure to expend enough money, effort, or concern
in the fight against AIDS. Death has overtaken tens of thousands of AIDS
sufferers, and now the grieving process has risen to a crescendo.
The disease, AIDS, offers an important reminder about human nature. When
AIDS strikes, a virus kills the immune system, making the body vulnerable
to all kinds of terrible diseases. The body deteriorates, often covered
with disfiguring sores, and vital organs fail. The HIV virus does quickly
what the aging process accomplishes in a much longer time frame. Eventually,
every human body grows vulnerable to disease; tissue deteriorates; parts
wear out and stop functioning.
This collection of cells that we have been given is not meant to last forever.
Because of the fall of Adam, we are all destined to die. We grieve at the
fact of death, but as Christians we grieve with hope. It is important to
remind ourselves regularly that God has planned something greater for us.
This is the subject of our study this morning.
One of our elders, Don Gruelle, told me yesterday that following the death
of his mother-in-law in April, a letter came in the mail urging her to take
out a new credit card. The sales pitch went something like this, "We
know how much planning and hard work went into the acquiring of your new
home, therefore we thought that a person such as you ought to carry our
credit card." The Gruelles smiled, realizing that the "planning
and hard work" was the work of Jesus, as their mother had gone to her
eternal home, which was nothing like the home the advertiser had in mind.
They missed her and had grieved over her loss, but their grief was filled
with hope. She had acquired a new home, not built with human hands, one
that would last forever.
We will begin our studies in Paul's 2 Corinthian letter today by reading
the closing verses of chapter 4. Verse 16:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting
away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary
troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what
is seen is temporary, but what is seen is eternal.
Seeing the unseen
Paul has been commenting on the fact that the power of God is released in
Christians in the new covenant, which is everything coming from God and
nothing coming from us. We have a marvelous, transcendent experience of
being ministers for the Lord's sake, of being newly free and unmasked, the
light of the face of Christ discovered within us. For the first time we
are free people. We speak for God, declaring the truth of God plainly and
boldly, appealing to the conscience of our generation that they might know
God.
Last week, we highlighted the fact that even when heavy blows descend, even
when we are buffeted with pain, difficulty and misunderstanding, "we
are knocked down, but not destroyed, perplexed, but not despairing, restricted,
but we don't give up." Yet the apostle twice says that our mortal bodies
are given life "so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our
body" (verse 10), and, "so that the life of Jesus may be revealed
in our mortal body" (verse 11). This life is exciting and vital as
a result. We are a pot, he is the treasure displayed in us. Every day is
filled with opportunity. This life is worth living because of the presence
of Jesus Christ in us.
But, as C.S. Lewis has written, this life is only the "title page."
The story has not even begun to be told yet. This is but the beginning.
Paul is saying that there is something unseen inside of us, something yet
future that is crowding us all the time. We can fix our gaze upon it-in
fact we must do so-fix our gaze on what is unseen rather than what is seen.
We have a sense that the future is just a moment away. We can know the presence
of God. We are being prepared for something. This life is not all there
is. It is merely spring training; the season hasn't started yet. This life
is preparing us for eternity with God. We choose to be more certain of that
than the things we can see every day.
What makes the cries of anguish we hear around us more terrible-the AIDS
activists, homelessness in this country, and now the homelessness resulting
from the devastating earthquake in Iran-is that this life is all that many
of these people have. We can understand why someone who is HIV positive
is furious at the government for not doing something more to make vaccines
available. There is so little time left, and there is nothing else to hope
for. The possibility for spiritual conversion was suggested to one AIDS
victim in San Francisco last week, and he dismissed it immediately. "I
don't want to hear about conversion," he said. "Don't take away
my anger, because if I lose my anger, I will lose my life." His experience
is bounded by the years he has left upon this earth. But the Christian,
says Paul, fixes his eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.
Inward renewal
There are three statements of contrast which the apostle makes in these
verses. This is how we need to see life, not by concentrating on what is
apparent. The first is in verse 16: "...outwardly we are wasting away,
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." When we are young, we
acquire life more and more as we grow into maturity, but eventually we hit
a peak, and from then on we are on a gradual, downhill course. We forget
what we used to know; we are a step slower than before; we creak a little
more and sag a little more. The outer man begins to waste away. This is
a universal principle; it happens to everybody. But what the Christian must
focus on is that the inner life can become fuller every day, because it
is being renewed day by day. There is more joy, more depth, more character
being built by God. Some people who claim to know the Lord deteriorate inwardly
at about the same rate as the outer man. They are content to sit before
their televisions; without hunger for righteousness; they are no longer
curious or hopeful about anything. Then, on the other hand, there are people
who take on new adventures at advanced age. They can't wait to learn what
more the scripture has to say; they want to learn new songs; they are leading
people to Christ; their prayers are deeper than they have ever been.
Caleb and Joshua were the only two people born before the Exodus who lived
to enter the Promised Land. Caleb, one of the spies who first entered Canaan,
had seen Hebron and the giants who dwelt there, and he asked Joshua to give
him Hebron to conquer when the time came to cross the Jordan. Although he
was eighty years old he wanted Hebron, in spite of the giants who lived
there. This is what Paul is saying here. If we fix our gaze on what is unseen
we will discover that we have life, potential, opportunity-prayers to pray,
lessons to teach, truth to learn-growth and renewal day after day.
Eternally valuable
Secondly, says Paul, "...our light and momentary troubles are achieving
for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." Paul had a difficult
life. He was beaten up a lot, and left for dead at least once. He was misunderstood
by his friends, thrown in jail, shipwrecked, etc. Yet he describes his troubles
as "light and momentary." This is because he was comparing them
with the eternal glory that was awaiting him. Light versus heavy; momentary
versus eternal. The character that God is building within us through suffering
is so worthwhile that we will not complain about the trials that befall
us; they are not to be compared. The island of Manhattan was once purchased
for twenty-four dollars worth of merchandise. Today, it is worth billions
of dollars. At the time it was sold it did not seem so valuable because
no one could predict the future. Esau also made a bad bargain when he sold
his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup. In his hunger, he gave up to Jacob
his right to first place in the line of Abraham's descendants. He did not
value enough what was yet in the future to be willing to suffer hunger pangs
a little longer. For the Christian, it is worth it to let God do his work
in our lives through suffering because of what we are going to receive as
a result.
Thirdly, in verse 18, Paul contrasts the temporary and the eternal. The
things which have only a temporary usefulness should not be preferred over
those that last forever. As a parent of teenage children, one of the things
I try to help them with is resisting immediate gratification to gain benefits
that last a lifetime. I urge them to not destroy their minds for the pleasure
of taking drugs; to not allow their sexuality to become shallow and hard
by choosing fleeting pleasure rather than reserving it for a lifetime of
tender expression in marriage. Do not favor the temporary over the long-term.
And here Paul is comparing temporary things with eternal things, well beyond
what lasts even a lifetime.
Heavenly dwelling
It is necessary for Christians to have answers for the longing in human
hearts that life should exist beyond this life. We know Christ now, and
that is wonderful, but beyond this life we will also know him. There is
an honest recognition in the gospel that things are wearing down, that this
body we have been given cannot stand the test of time. Chapter 5:
Now 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. Meanwhile
we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when
we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 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.
Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the
Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always
confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away
from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say,
and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So
we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or
away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the
body, whether good or bad.
Paul begins this chapter by using a mixture of metaphors. He first speaks
of a tent, which is clearly meant to stand for our bodies. Then he contrasts
the tent with a building in heaven, a home that God has made, not built
by human hands. Later, he talks about being clothed by this tent. It seems
the metaphor changes from a dwelling to a suit of clothing, and again, there
is a kind of a heavenly counterpart: real clothing versus temporary clothing,
a lasting versus a temporary dwelling.
We can understand why Paul might have used these metaphors. He was a leather
worker and a tentmaker before he became the apostle to the Gentiles. Tents
were made out of animal skins. They were temporary dwellings, erected with
the help of poles, and made to be easily moved. Clothing could also be made
from leather. As he was writing this letter, Paul may have recalled a time
when someone brought him a tent in need of repair. It had begun to tear
and leak; it was cracked and weather-beaten. Or perhaps he was recalling
an occasion when someone brought an item of outer clothing that had become
worn and tattered. Paul's job was to repair or replace such items.
Now, as he contemplates his own body wearing down, just like worn-out tents
and clothes, the frame that he had been given for his lifetime was wearing
out. The person on the inside has a lot more to live for, while the person
on the outside has a lot less responsiveness. Having made this observation,
Paul rejoices because God is making for us a suit of clothing that will
swallow us up in life; or, if you prefer the building metaphor, he is creating
a home for us that is secure, lasting, and eternal. There is an antipathy
to being naked. Verses 2 and 4 both mention groaning. We are frustrated
because we know something better is coming, like children who sigh awaiting
Christmas. Something better is coming, says Paul, but we have to wait for
it.
Longing for the future
But we sigh and groan, says the apostle, because we are looking at heaven
in anticipation (v.2), and because we are burdened with our aging bodies
(v.4)-and that causes groaning too at times. Despite occasional temporary
improvements, examination of our bodies is not ultimately encouraging.
I do not think Paul is speaking of nakedness here in the sense of Genesis
3. There, Adam and Eve were ashamed and guilty and they covered themselves.
This passage sees our physical frame as shelter. The body that used to protect
me grows more vulnerable to illness. It becomes more difficult to keep warm,
and harder to get out of bed in the morning. Paul is equating nakedness
with vulnerability. Just as an AIDS sufferer becomes wasted and devastated
as he nears the end of his illness, the same thing happens to us when we
grow older. We can't fight off disease anymore so we groan because what
we see is loss and vulnerability. Thus we find ourselves anxious for the
new shelter, "so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life."
Jesus said he would prepare a home for us and come back to take us to be
with him. A transformation is coming.
Responsibilities in the meantime
We have to live this life although we would rather be with the Lord; there's
no getting around it, says Paul. We live by faith, not by sight. As long
as we are on this earth, in these bodies, we don't see him the way we will
see him one day. In the meantime we have some choices to make, recognizing
two important motivations.
Here is the first one: "So we make it our goal to please him,"
says Paul, "whether we are at home in the body or away from it."
And secondly, we recognize that "we all must appear before the judgment
seat of Christ." Christ matters to us. His heart can be encouraged
or grieved by what we choose. If we love him, we will want to please him.
This present time is a little like the engagement period before marriage,
a time of anticipation of all that is yet to come in the marriage itself.
If you love your intended, don't you want to please him, to find ways to
express your appreciation?
Also, a day is coming when our Lord will review our lives with us. The judgment
seat mentioned here is not the great white throne judgment, when some will
be banished to outer darkness and some welcomed into the embrace of the
Lord. The apostle is writing to those who are saved. Paul is talking about
the time when Jesus will put his arm around each one of us and take us back
through our lives. Perhaps he will give us a short vision of what we were
like before we became Christians. Then, beginning with the day of our salvation,
he will show us why we did what we did. He will evaluate our thoughts, in
other words. We may have done certain things which seemed great to us, but
we will discover we did them for all the wrong motives. There will be times
when we had no idea we were trusting him, when we were scared and uncertain,
and he will say, "You were acting in faith there."
Paul says this coming judgment motivates him. He wants to please the living
Christ who is his companion, and he lives with awareness of the evaluation
to come. Therefore, even though we would rather be at home with the Lord,
this life is filled with opportunity and challenge. What is tragic about
many AIDS activists, the anger of the homeless, and those who are fighting
to keep this life because for them that is all there is, is that they expend
all this energy because they are afraid and they are overwhelmed by grief.
But we can be engaged in the battle as soldiers on assignment, sure of victory,
carrying our tents, knowing that the day is coming when we will be going
home. We can be a thousand times more engaged, energetic and positive precisely
because we are not afraid to lose, because we fix our gaze on what is unseen.
Having looked at what is unseen, therefore, Paul says, "We're not done
yet. We're on our way home, but let's be about our Father's business right
now."
Hebrews 11:8 says this about Abraham:
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later
receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know
where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like
a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob,
who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward
to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Abraham, the believer, cast his shadow across all of history to follow.
By the Spirit, this is how we should live. Abraham never built a permanent
dwelling for himself. He always carried his tent and his altar with him,
trusting God despite great difficulty, believing against all the visible
evidence. He refused to allow this life to own him.
Paul is making the same point here in 2 Corinthians. Do not let this life
own you. Do not live for its values, or be seduced by its promises. The
future is already being created inside us. We were made to live in a city
that has foundations, not made by human hands, whose builder and maker is
God. What a magnificent way to live!
Catalog No. 4222
2 Cor. 4:16-5:10
Eighth Message
Steve Zeisler
June 24, 1990
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