You are promised a brand new body!
“We know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Cor. 5:1 NIV)
“Remember the Alamo!”
Recently, while visiting San Antonio, Texas, for a conference I was speaking at, Susan and I visited the Alamo. It was a stark reminder of what had happened there during the Texas Revolution, February 23 to March 6, 1836, where so many had died. According to eye witness accounts it was a slaughter withperhaps as many as ten-to-one against those who were garrisoned within the walls of the Alamo. They didn't have a chance and were brutally and mercilessly destroyed. Santa Anna’s cruelty during the battle outraged and emblazoned great numbers of Texans to rise up with the now famous battle cry, “remember the Alamo!”, and they defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the revolution.
The Alamo is now called the “Alamo Shrine” and as you walk through it, you see many displays depicting what had happened during that battle, including lists of names of those who had died there, including Davie Crocket.
All are only temporary here
In the promise scripture passage above, we are reminded of several important things.
“If the earthly tent we live in (our body) is destroyed.” – All will die someday, some even tragically (destroyed).
As terrible as the Alamo battle was, it is now history! It is an undeniable fact that every single person involved in every aspect of the Texas Revolution is now dead! And it is a stark reminder to us that all people will die. Some tragically, as in the Alamo, some by natural causes, and some for many other reasons. There are no exceptions. The Bible says that everybody will eventually die. (Heb. 9:27)
“we have a building (body) from God” - Whenwe die we will get a new body to live in. There will come a day at the appearing of Jesus that our bodies, too, will be transformed and we will then have brand new transformed ones. (2 Cor. 5:3)
“an eternal house (body) in heaven” – We will have a new body that willlast forever. The body we have now is only temporary, but our resurrected body will be made perfect and will last indefinitely. (1 Corinthians 15:35-58)
“in heaven” - It will be in Heaven. And, Jesus has prepared a wonderful place in Heaven for you to live. (John 14:2-4)
“not built by human hands.” – It’s made by God. Everything God creates is perfect and made with absolute excellence! (Psalm 86:8-10)
To recap:
Someday, we too will be a part of history, because all die and we will too. But, no matter how we die, if we have received Christ (John 1:12), we will receive a brand new body made by God that will last forever in Heaven! It's a promise!