My friend Gordon Simmul is the only person I know who would be keen on exchanging a house for a tent, no matter how good the house may be (no, he’s not crazy – He loves the outdoors). Hang on, what are we talking about here… tents made of goat skins, canvas, polythene, and houses made of bricks and mortar? No! We’re talking about our frail physical bodies and new indestructible bodies, promised to believers when raptured to meet with the Lord in the heavens (1 Thess. 4:13-18).

Shedding much light on the subject, Paul said to the church at Corinth, “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 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. So, we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:1-6). 
 
Wow! There’s a lot of tasty spiritual meat in that text that’s worth chewing-over carefully and digesting slowly.
 
In the hope of sparking some excitement about the promised swap of our earthly tents for God-built heavenly houses let’s make a quick comparison between the two. Our tents (earthly bodies) are man-made – they grow weary, groan and sigh, and one-day must be taken down (buried) as our physical bodies have a short shelf-life. On the other hand, God offers a house (a heavenly body) that is God-made: no weariness, no groans, no sighs – Incorruptibility is its quality of health an immortality is its shelf-life!

Friends, the big exchange, our man-made tents for God-made houses is on offer for a limited time to any person who commits to living a repentant life and who maintains belief in Jesus Christ, evidenced through obedience. Now, I don’t know what you think about the offer but I know who stands to gain through this “once in a life time,” “grab it while you can” exchange.

I’ve already signed-up for this great bargain! In fact, at this very moment in time my house is under construction and will be ready for occupancy at God’s appointed time. Not long now before I will be rid of this tent and finally be “at home with the Lord”!
 
Best wishes,
Bill Joukhadar