Funeral

Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives us some insights into this mysterious transformation of a Believer from mortal life into endless life. To most, this "act" of moving from mortal life into endless life, is generally know by the term "death", which to some seems to mean "the end". To the Believer, the "act" of death is just the beginning of real life with no end.

As we look at this passage to find our comfort and hope, we must remember that this process, described by Paul, is referring only to the ones who have accepted Christ as Savior.

Because death is that unknown factor into which none of us have entered or experienced, Paul uses physical and time oriented illustrations, of which most are familiar, to direct our thinking to the unknown in this realm of the spiritual.

Paul uses different types of dwelling places to show the difference between mortal life in this present time, and eternal life beyond time. The earthly house or body in which we now dwell is likened to a tent or a temporary dwelling place. After physical death, ___’s "tent" was still visible, but ____ was no longer using her(his) tent. ____‘s earthly "tent" was battered by time and the rigors of living.

On the other hand, ____ and each Born Again Believer has a brand new body already in heaven. Paul says of this heavenly body, that it is like a sturdy building, a solid eternal structure in contrast to our temporary earthly tent.

____ stepped out of her(his) earthly "tent", with all its tears, hurts and problems into a heavenly building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. In her(his) heavenly body, ____ is no longer struggling to walk or get around. In her(his) heavenly body, she(he) can see clearly, do things easily and is not limited by time or space.

____ can travel and is not restricted by flight schedules, AND in her(his) heavenly body, she(he) can stand face to face with Christ her(his) Savior!!!! A reality that she(he) longed to experience.

Our earthly "tent", in which we live this present life, is only temporary and does get beat around and damaged by the natural elements, on a daily basis. In this passage, Paul describes the results of this constant pounding of time and the elements as "groanings". The older our earthly tent becomes, the more it groans as a result of this pounding. The psalmist describes this aspect of life in…

Psalms 90:10 The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

____ made it well past that "70 year" mark, mentioned in the Psalm, but the last few years were filled with physical "groanings", AND she(he) was looking forward to the time when she(he) would receive her(his) new body. That new body will not be made from the natural elements through physical birth but will be an eternal body that is made by God.

____ slipped from this "earth-tent", racked by pain, into a body specially prepared, by God, just for her(him). In those almost 100(+/-) years of labor and sorrow that constituted ____’s earthly journey, she(he) didn’t just sit around waiting for death to come and take her(him) home to glory. ____ lived life with passion, determination and a desire that this sin scarred world be a better place because of the life she(he) lived.