In 2 Corinthians 5:1–9, Paul reminds believers that this earthly body is temporary, like a tent that will one day be taken down. We feel the weight of this life. We groan under burdens, pain, aging, weakness, and sorrow. But for the Christian, this life is not all there is. We have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
That promise gives us courage. Heaven is not a vague idea or a comforting imagination. It is the prepared dwelling place of God, where His people will be fully at home with the Lord. This old earthly tent may need mending, but God has already prepared something eternal. The Spirit is our guarantee that what God has promised is paid in full. Until the day we move from this earthly tent into our heavenly home, our aim is simple: to be pleasing to Him.
How beautiful heaven must be—not only because of what will be absent there, such as pain, death, sorrow, and tears, but because of who will be present. To be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord.