those we despise

Wednesday June 10^th, 2 Corinthians 5: ^1-4 We know, for instance, that if our earthly dwelling were taken down, like a tent, we have a permanent house in Heaven, made, not by man, but by God. In this present frame we sigh with deep longing for the heavenly house, for we do not want to face utter nakedness when death destroys our present dwelling—these bodies of ours. So long as we are clothed in this temporary dwelling we have a painful longing, not because we want just to get rid of these “clothes” but because we want to know the full cover of the permanent house that will be ours. We want our transitory life to be absorbed into the life that is eternal. When we leave this world and all that we have created in it, we leave it all behind, including this earthen jar that houses who we really are.  When we “get” this, when we really “get” that we all, you and I and those we despise, will someday all be together in the kingdom of God, those we despise seem just a bit less despicable.  When we turn our focus from ourselves, and our own selfish desires, we begin to discover the richness of God’s kingdom in the here and now.