Maybe they were right. Maybe I will never see him again. Heartbroken, I stared at the empty seat next to mine where my fiancé should have been. Confusion and grief were my companions on that long, lonely flight home.
Visa issues had prevented Russell from joining me. And mentors in his life had strongly opposed our relationship, even praying that it wouldn’t work out. Now that international borders separated us, would Russell start to agree with them?
But as I looked at the empty seat, my engagement ring arrested my attention. This wasn’t just Russell’s gift to me; it was his promise.
Likewise, God has made a promise to His people. He “has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 5:5). Like an engagement ring, the Spirit within us is proof that God will one day bring us to His “eternal house in heaven” (v. 1).
In this life, we “groan and are burdened” (v. 4); we struggle, often feeling as heartbroken as I did on that plane. Human promises can be broken. By contrast, God’s Word to us is utterly dependable. So we can confidently “live by faith, not by sight” (v. 7).
Perhaps your faith is wavering today. Take hold of today’s Scripture; God has promised you life in His home. Indeed, He “has fashioned [you] for this very purpose” (v. 5), and His Spirit in you is His guarantee.
By Debbi Fralick
REFLECT & PRAY
What evidence do you see of God’s Spirit within you? If you’ve never given your life to God, you can invite Him in today by putting your faith in the Lord Jesus.
Heavenly Father, I know I am destined for heaven because I already have a piece of heaven within me. Thank You for Your guarantee that my home will be with You for all eternity.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Paul wrote this rich passage in the context of pondering death. Yet he put an unusual twist on it. Not only was he longing for death, but he also viewed it as being “swallowed up by life” (2 Corinthians 5:4)—inverting our typical view of it. The chapter begins with Paul contrasting our “earthly tent” with a future “building from God, an eternal house in heaven” (v. 1). The apostle’s certainty of this eternal future prompted him to say he “would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (v. 8 ). For now, “we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling” (v. 2). Paul had great confidence in this because God has “given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (v. 5). This is the great message of the gospel. For believers in Christ, death is obliterated by eternal life.
Tim Gustafson
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