Through the Eyes of a Lion: Facing Impossible Pain, Finding Incredible Power

by Levi Lusko

So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. (vv. 1–8) Digging into these verses gave me strength and peace in ways I will never be able to articulate. Paul basically says that this life is a camping trip. Instead of canvas and poles, we are all bivouacking in flesh and blood. But what goes up must come down. The more you use a tent, the more trashed it gets. Paul would know this better than anyone. He was a tentmaker, the old school equivalent of a one-man REI. This skill subsidized his ministry and is why we use the phrase a tentmaking job to describe a bivocational minister’s other employment. The word tentmaker in the Greek literally means “tent repairer.” Paul didn’t just make new tents; he would patch up beat-up, old ones. Eventually, though, a tent would be irreparable, so the person couldn’t use it anymore. That is death. No camping trip can last forever. Eventually the fire must be put out and the tent taken down. We all must break camp sooner or later. But, Paul insists, when that happens, all is not lost. When this tent dissolves, we have a house in the heavens. In the Roman Empire, tents were often used as temporary dwellings while houses were being constructed. When the home was finally ready, you left the cramped tent. The departure was an upgrade.