Longing for heaven
“Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling.” 2 Corinthians 5:2
What is your greatest longing or desire?
Your answer to that question will likely be different depending on your stage in life and/or your current mood or situation. If things are going great, your desire is likely that they continue that way. If things are not so great, you are probably longing for them to get better or for something which is bothering or negatively affecting you to be gone or done with.
Unless you peeked at and really pondered the title of this devotion, your longing is very likely something earthly or physical. How easily we become attached to and want to hang on to the things of this life!
Our Bible verse for this week acknowledges that and helps us work through having a longing for merely the things of this earth.
Notice how the verse begins “Meanwhile we groan.” The Apostle Paul wants us to understand and fully realize that our longings will never be completely satisfied or fulfilled here on earth. That will likely be a huge disappointment to some who have built all their hopes and dreams on the people, places and things of this life. That groaning and disappointment is not so much from having earthly desires, but rather from living in a world influenced by and affected by sin. That doesn’t mean that God doesn’t want us to enjoy the blessings of our time here on earth. It does mean that we need to understand the limitations and terms of expiration of our earthly blessings.
One of the best ways I’ve seen to learn this lesson is to spend some time with an elderly Christian who has come to understand that their time on earth is coming to an end. While they certainly have enjoyed and appreciate all the blessings they had on earth, they also fully understand that they have something much better to look forward to.
That is what Paul points us to with the second half of this week’s verse “longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling.” The Bible is very clear what awaits us when we get to “our heavenly dwelling.” God led the Apostle John to describe that very clearly for us in a number of places in the last book of the Bible, Revelation.
My favorite description is laid out in Revelation 7 and repeated again in similar terms in chapters 14 & 21. If you read any of those chapters, you will see John describing heaven not in terms of things on the earth which we love and desire, but rather as the absence of those things on earth which make us “groan.” John describes heaven as a place where there will be “no more mourning, sorrow or pain.”
Perhaps you have figured out that our Bible verse for this week has a very natural and direct tie to the ministry of TLHA. Is there an older adult or someone with special needs whom you know or care for in our ministry? Can you listen to their words and learn from their actions about how they are “longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling?” I have no doubt that there are many whom we care for or serve who understand and could share with us their thoughts on the reality of this week’s verse. Ask them. Take a moment to engage them in a conversation and let them teach you how you can set your heart and attitude to be longing for heaven.