We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. 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 5:2-5

 

Nicholas grew up in a large family. When he was 12, he heard about a drawing contest on the radio and carefully created an entry. The prize?  $200 of new clothes from a local store.

Nicholas won that contest.  After wearing hand-me-down clothes already worn by older brothers his whole life, he’s never forgotten what it felt like to put on something brand new for the first time. Just as Nicholas longed for that brand new feeling, we also long for a fresh start, a life of unfaded vibrancy, without tears, holes or badly mended places. Eventually, our physical bodies get to where they feel like old, baggy clothes and God gives us this metaphor to communicate the all-new lives and eventually, bodies, that He longs to give us.

The Apostle Paul explained in 2 Corinthians: “We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. 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 5:2-5).

Here are some takeaways: One, God’s plan has always been to make us brand new, both spiritually and physically. Two, followers of Jesus won’t spend eternity as weird, body-less spirits and three, between now and then as we are being made new, God lives with us in the old.