Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:6-9
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, prescription not by sight. We are confident, ambulance I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
Thought for the Day: Paul was not a fan of the flesh. I think there were some deep psychosexual reasons for this, and that Paul developed a philosophy of judgment both because he was so uncomfortable in his own skin, and because he was disillusioned with the corruption of the Empire. Paul looks at the world and judges it lacking, then imprints his view on God, who Paul claims will judge us all at some time in the future, and find us lacking. For Paul, being embodied was in and of itself a sin.
What Paul failed to understand, and what I think most Christians today fail to understand, is that even while we are embodied, we are home, as close to God as our breath. Becoming physical doesn’t mean we have left God’s presence. We can never leave God’s presence. Nothing physical can leave God’s presence, because everything physical is the presence of God. God is always part of us, because God is the foundation of all things spiritual or physical. Now, we can ignore God, or pretend God isn’t with us; we can try to run away from God, and do terrible things to our selves or to others, but we are never separated from God. Physically, we are literally the stuff of God. It’s the mental and spiritual connection we’re having trouble with, at least in part because we’re distracted by the physical, but this doesn’t make the physical an error.
God is every one of us, and God loves us all without exception, no matter how poorly we act in this physical incarnation. God is with us. Home is with us. No matter how far away we think we are, no matter how unworthy we think we are; we’re always welcome home, and please remember, we are always worthy. No exceptions.
Prayer: Reconnect me, Glorious God, so I might discover a fuller, more deeply meaningful spiritual and physical life, lived constantly and consciously in your presence. Amen.