Knowing the future is easy. All we have to do is read the Bible. Jesus told us, John told us, and Paul told us. Do we trust them?

10…knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. 11 discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Yesterday, as we studied 2 Corinthians 5:1-5, we discovered that this life, along with our sinful bodies and even death itself, is being swallowed up in life! Eternal life. We will have bodies suited for eternity in the Lord’s presence. What hope can we find in such a discovery? Let’s look at the next four verses and find out.

⁶ Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷ For we live by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

1. “Always confident”- There is a sureness here that transcends any trial or tribulation. That sureness is that no matter whether they are alive or dead physically, they are safe in the truth that God has them in the palm of His hand either way. They have a sure hope.
2. “We live by faith, not by sight”-. Paul talks about this type of faith twice more in Scripture, Romans 8:24 and Hebrews 11:1 (if you are a believer that Paul wrote Hebrews). The idea is to take Jesus’ word that He has a place for us (John 14:2-3) and that we will be with Him upon the death of these natural bodies (Luke 23:43). We believe Jesus for salvation; why not believe Him about heaven, too?
3. “We make it our goal to please Him”- Ephesians 5:10 says, “and find out what pleases the Lord.” Upon the entry of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we gain His innate desire to please the Father. Pleasing the Son pleases the Father. How do I know this? Because of John 5,
   1. Verse 19, “I can do only what I see my Father doing.”
   2. Verse 20, “The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does.”
   3. Verse 21, The Father and the Son give life to whomever they are pleased to give it.
   4. Verse 22, The Father has entrusted all judgement to the Son.
   5. Verse 23, All who honor the Son honor the Father. Those who do not honor the Son dishonor the Father.

In conclusion, we no longer need to worry about pleasing the Father because we please the Son. We give Him our lives and live each day in accordance to the Holy Spirit’s guidance within us. We no longer fear death because we know that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” In the meantime, we rejoice in each day because of the hope in us that He will fulfill His promises to us.

Tomorrow, we will look at verse 10: The Question of the Ages, “Will Christians be judged for their works?” (I’ll give you a spoiler alert: NO!). Stay tuned…

Abba, thank You for the promises You have given us concerning our future beyond these bodies and this life. Thank You for the assurance we have in You and the Spirit within us Who is our guarantee and the seal of Your promise. Teach us what pleases You, O Lord. We will do it! Amen.