…as long as I live in the tent of this body,

2 Peter 1:13, portion

This body is my tent.  Tabernacle, as the old language (KJV) describes.  What is this life?  What is this thing called death?  The Bible says that the world is all dead, while they say they live.  And, the church of the saints is the only place of life.

This body is a shadow.  And, while, while it is very real, for God did create it, it is merely temporary.  In this, we are reminded that what we sow that is perishable, namely, our bodies, just like a seed of wheat is sown, will be raised up in a new form, and that, incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:42).Jesus said not to be afraid of him who could kill the body only, the devil and man (Matthew 10:28), but to be afraid of Him alone who can destroy body and soul in hell, God Himself.

We know these to be the words of Christ, and yet, in what way could any man not be afraid of losing his life?  Only if his knowledge was rooted in the reality of the Eternal.

We know that God is real.  We live as seeing Him who is unseen.  Yet, this body, and this life, are but a passing thing.

Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.

2 Peter 1:14

Peter knew that his current tent must soon, at his writing, be taken down, and packed away.  He would no longer live as a sojourner of the Earth, seeking that heavenly city.  But, there is a passing glory called today.  It has it’s measure of what the Creator originally imagined.  And, in it, Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:1, that he was a partaker then of the glory that was to be revealed.

This body is not me, nor is yours you.  It is real, it is not imaginary, but you are a spirit, and you have a soul.  Whether you live for life Eternal, or whether you face wrath, we will all be raised, and we will all be judged (Revelation 20), and we will all face our God.

But, what of this vessel, and what of this life?  While we wait for the blessed consummation, we live in an age that is limited only by our faith.  Jesus said, all things are possible for him who believes.