Persevering Along The Journey

“But our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.”                 Philippians 3:20-21

                I visited a dear friend in his late twenties who found himself in the hospital awaiting a heart transplant and basically a permanent resident there until his new heart arrived or until which time the Lord chose to call him to his heavenly home. Before I comment any further, I will boldly proclaim for my friend that he already has a “New Spiritual Heart” because he has accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior, therefore, if God did choose to call him home today, he would by days’ end be sitting at the very feet of King Jesus. Having walked through the corridors of the hospital I was quickly reminded of how fragile this mortal life is that we’ve been granted by our Creator God – the ONE who created us in His image. However, we understand that when sin entered the world, God’s created order for the world was sent into chaos including the incredibly perfectly functioning body of every human being, therefore, we became subject to pain, disease, and earthly death.

                The Apostle Paul refers to these earthly bodies as our “Mortal Bodies” that will eventually be replaced with new bodies which resemble that of Jesus Himself, “He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.” The “power” spoken of here is the amazing power of God, above and beyond any power we can ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21) – the power that set all of Creation into existence, the power that defeated our sin and death on the cross, the power that works in our hearts through the Holy Spirit to comfort and strengthen us in times of hardship & pain, and the power that God will use to create new bodies for us in heaven that will be without pain, disease, sickness, anxiety, depression, or any other type of illness. Thus, our hope is in the promise that God is faithful to the promises of His word, that our ultimate home is not this world nor our fragile bodies, and here we are promised that even if in this life our pain, diseases, struggles, or disabilities are not completely removed, God will sustain us, one day granting us a “new and glorious body” as we enter our heavenly home.

Connecting Faith & Life:

                Father, thank You that as believers in Christ we are not “citizens of this world” and these fragile, mortal bodies are not where our hope is found. You are the Creator and Sustainer of life through Your amazing power and I’m thankful for Your eternal promises of new and glorious bodies as we enter our heavenly home. May we continually be strengthened each day by Your word and through the presence of Your Spirit within us knowing that on this journey we are simply passing through. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.