Absence in is Golden
2 Corinthians 5:1-10
Memory Verse: Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 1 Corinthians 4:16
As I walked out of our dormitory here at camp this morning, two of our adult sponsors were returning from a time of exercise. It was easy to tell they had exerted themselves to the point of pain. Many will make fun of their discipline and others will merely ask, “Why?” The answer is simple; they desire to have good health. It is their desire to maintain a better level of health than if they did not endure the pain involved in the discipline of the physical body.
Paul uses the same logic when he speaks of the temporal nature of our time on this earth. In our reading for today, he asserts his desire to be with Jesus. He makes no apology for having the desire for the better body gained in the resurrection. He is clear in teaching that the believer resides in one of two places. You are either in the earth or with the Lord. There is no waiting place between. It is ok to endure the difficulties of walking with Christ in this life to look forward to the overwhelming rewards in the next.
Do not miss verse 9 because of the tenacity of verse 10. Paul’s says his ambition is to please the Lord. What an awesome statement. What a convicting statement. When we think of ambition we think of accomplishment or monetary gain. Paul thought of pleasing the Lord. With an ambition of pleasing the
Lord there is little ambition for material gain. There is little concern with pleasing men simply for their favor. This brings up a heart check. I ask myself and encourage you to ask yourself as well. Is your ambition to please the Lord? God speak to us today and convict us to give your lives to please you.
Reflection
What did God say to me from this Scripture reading, devotional, and or prayer time?
What did I say to God?
