tents in the wilderness

if you have ever gone camping, then you know the uncomfortableness of spending the night practically on the dirt. you understand the effort it takes to set up the tent for your temporary shelter, to get you through the rough night, to shield you as much as possible from any harsh and unwanted elements of the wilderness.

for the majority of everyone, no one would refer to these tents--these temporary shelters--as home.

home, I think, is something sacred altogether and something entirely different. something much more permanent. not a place where one merely settles down for an evening, for a temporary passing and going, but a place where its residents seek to dwell.

as a follower of Christ, we all know that this earth (as beautiful as it can sometimes be) is not our permanent home. in fact, there are multiple parallels to this concept of home throughout scripture. in one example, paul writes:

"... for we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan longing to put on our heavenly dwelling."

2 Corinthians 5:1-2

paul makes a unique example here, correlating our earthly bodies as tents. as christians, we know that these earthly bodies--these tents--will one day be destroyed due to death. but we also, with our desire to be reunited with Christ home in Heaven, are "longing to put on our heavenly dwelling" and therefore have no need to fear death.

"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body..."

Philippians 3:20-21

it is so easy to be distracted by the elements of the wilderness of this earth, especially while we are in these fragile tents. sometimes it can be easy to forget that home is not yet here and that these human bodies are temporary vessels of worship. (Hebrews 9:21-24).

and yet, the Lord knows that our hearts are homesick for Home.

so through Jesus' blood, he made it so that His Holy Spirit could dwell inside us.

"In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."

Ephesians 2:22

"... so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 3:17-19

can you imagine being filled with the fullness of God?

Jesus came to earth, fully God and fully man, and lived a sinless life that was perfectly pleasing to the Lord.

"For in him (Jesus) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell."

Colossians 1:19

and it is because Jesus gave us HIS Spirit, that now the opportunity exists for us to experience the fullness of the KING OF KINGS dwelling in us. the Lord of Heaven and earth loves you so much that He made a way to let our hearts be a home for His Spirit.

these bodies are temporary. tents in the wilderness.

our faith in Him is eternal. a God-carved home.

so until our bodies are reunited and remade on the day we come Home, we have a job to do in this wilderness of earth.

on this earth, we have been given the gift to act as living sanctuaries of our Loving God. so let us go find other travelers in their tents and make camp together. let us confidently use our tents to invite more people home.

during paul's ministry on this earth, he worked with his own hands to make money, to serve others, and to help financially support his mission... and paul worked as a tent maker (Acts 18:3).

paul worked as a tent maker--literally crafting temporary shelters for people who needed them while simultaneously beckoning people to recognize their bodies as tents which bear the possibility of harboring the Holy Spirit.

there are a hundred different ways to dive deeper into this... into dwelling places, into tents, and into homes. but for now, let this serve as a simple reminder that these fragile, temporary bodies are nothing more than tents in the wilderness. we have a home we are waiting for. we will be made new.

but until then, let us not forget the gift of the Holy Spirit who has chosen to make His home in our humble tents. let us steward this gift well and treat these tents with as much reverence as we can. we have a wilderness to face, but we do not have to face it alone. let us go and make camp together and amplify the presence of the Spirit.

until He calls us Home, we must treat our hearts as a proper dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. let our hearts find home in Him as the Spirit has found home in us.

with great love,

emily christine