“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT
“Our bodies are dying”, Paul wrote. In an absolute sense, that is, of course, true. We have been dying since we became adults, or, it could be argued, since birth. Through Adam, sin entered a previously perfect world, and what was meant to live forever has been corrupted and spoiled. The span of human life is now rarely more than 100 years, and here in the UK, the average lifespan for a man is 70 and for a woman 83. Death comes when our bodily functions start to decline and are unable to renew themselves. But I can hear my readers’ thoughts: “What a depressing way to start the day!” Well, it would be, except for the fact that Paul followed up his initial statement with “our spirits are being renewed every day”. A random person in the street, an unbeliever, will not have a clue about the spirit, or soul, that lives within him. They will experience emotions and feelings. They will laugh and cry, love and hate. And all the time perhaps not understanding that this comes from their soul. We describe a person as “body, soul and spirit”, but a random person in the street will not spend too much time thinking about their soul and spirit.
But we pilgrims are not random people at all, because we are children of God and because of that, our spirits will end up with God in Heaven. He knows our names, and these are engraved on the palm of His hands – Isaiah 49:16a, “See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands”. What a privileged people we are! Paul was greatly comforted by the fact that, although his body was dying, his spirit was alive and well and was being renewed each and every day.
One day, our bodies will finally die and will end up in a grave or urn somewhere, but our renewed spirits will go on to live forever, and, one day, will receive a new body. One that will never wear out and will be like the body Jesus received all those years ago on the first Easter Sunday. Paul took an eternal view of all the troubles that he was experiencing day by day. The beatings, shipwrecks, general abuse and so on would all one day be of no consequence at all because he would be spending time with His Lord, Jesus. A bit later in this epistle, Paul wrote, “While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 5:4-5).
But what about the random person in the street, whose body is wearing out as well and whose spirits are yet to be reborn into God’s kingdom? Their spirits will live forever as well, but not in a place they want to be. Suffice it to say that we pilgrims must encourage them to consider their future and, in the process, introduce them to Jesus.
Paul could see that his present troubles were of no consequence and, more, would one day produce for him a glory that far outweighed what he was experiencing. He finished the chapter with “we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever”. That takes faith, but such a perspective is not unachievable because the Holy Spirit within us will hold the vision of Heaven before our spiritual eyes. So, what do we pilgrims fix our gaze on? Sadly, so often we get caught up in the things of this world, and the vision of glory dims and gets crowded out. It is not that we must neglect the worldly demands, but we must keep them in perspective.
Towards the end of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul wrote, “Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). It’s all about Jesus and what He has done for us. Without Him being willing to sacrifice his body so that we would have life, we would be in a very sad place.
Dear Father God. We praise and worship You today. We are so grateful for Your love and grace, and for the day we will have eternal life with You. We look forward to the glory awaiting us, totally undeserved, but all because of Jesus. Thank You. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 