In the present crisis that we find ourselves in, many people are staying home.  It’s funny that the longer we stay in the house, the more we long to leave it.  But, in spite of our feelings, we stay at home because we know what the alternative is.

That’s the same type of thing that Paul explains to the Corinthian church.

In my last post, we saw that God has a heavenly home prepared for us.  But we have to wait for Christ’s return in order to receive it.

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.
2 Corinthians 5:5

The good news is that we have more than just a promise of the great things to come.  God gave us a down-payment.  That’s the word Paul uses to describe the Holy Spirit in this verse.

God has placed His Holy Spirit within us.  That’s the guarantee that we’ll have a part in the resurrection.  But how does that help us right now?

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.
2 Corinthians 5:6-9

With just a surface reading of this passage, it sounds like the apostle is talking about dying and being with the Lord.  I don’t think that’s the case.  I believe he’s talking about something a little closer to our daily lives.

The phrase, at home, is more about your familiarity with a place than your actual location.  It literally says that if your body is your home country, then you’ve emigrated from God’s presence.

That’s not Paul’s preference. He wants to pursue that which is unseen.  He would rather see God’s presence as his home turf, and the body as the place he’s emigrated from.

He even says that this knowledge causes him to be bold.  Having God’s presence available gives him the courage to do what he’s called to do.

That’s the big question that we all need to answer as God’s people.  Where do we feel more at home?

Is the pursuit of the temporary more comfortable for you?  Would you rather be a part of this world’s system?  Or do you prefer God’s presence and the pursuit of that which pleases Him?

Obviously, by Paul’s last statement, he knows that we have to go back and forth on this issue.  There are times that we need to take care of things in the natural.  But even in those times, we remember what we’ve seen in the spirit, and strive to accomplish God’s will.

We know that the “stay at home orders” are for our good in this crisis.  In the same way, we need to choose to stay at home in God’s presence.  This will bring about God’s best in your life.

Question: How “at home” do you feel in the presence of God?

© 2020 Nick Zaccardi