"Folding up the Tent" - Reflections on Death

“Folding up the Tent” – Reflections on Death

The phrase, “folding up the tent,” is biblical imagery for physical death, which transitions Christian believers into eternal life.  In 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, the apostle Paul discourses upon “Our Heavenly Dwelling.”  He utilizes the task of tent making which was his means of financial support during his missionary journeys as spiritual symbolism to explain which opens the door to eternity.  It is the natural end of our earthly pilgrimage which has a primary spiritual purpose of sharing God’s love.

Death is the crossing of a threshold from time and history into eternity, the everlasting presence of God.  Death enables believers to cease their wandering in life’s wilderness.  We cross the great cosmological Jordan River and arrive safely in Promised Land of the New Jerusalem.  There, we no longer experience disease, danger and other limitations of earthly existence.  As a consequence, “folding up the tent” is an ironic occasion for rejoicing rather than mourning.

Paul refers to the human body as a tent.  “If the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal home in the heavens not built by human hands.”  Paul made tents out of goatskins because they were the most durable types.  Reflecting upon this occupation one day, Paul writes to the Corinthian church to remind them the human body is a tent that houses our soul.  Biologists, neurologists, internists, pathologists and other scientists still attempt to replicate the intricacies of the eyes, liver, brain and other vital organs.  Our teeth, DNA and fingerprints reflect the uniqueness of each human tent. 

Nevertheless, like durable tents made of goatskins, our human tents eventually wear out because of disease and other natural causes.  Death results predictably.  But, Paul insists we should not fret because of it.  We do not wail and cry because we inherit an even greater house to replace our earthly tent.  This home exists in heavenly realms.  Almighty God majestically, mystically and magnificently creates an eternal, no corporeal tent in which our eternal spirits will dwell as we enjoy His direct presence.

This tent metaphor alludes to a nomadic existence for Christian disciples.  Life is a pilgrimage.  The earth is not the home of believers.  We are merely passing through the wilderness of life.  Like the children of Israel who were liberated from Egyptian slavery, then traveled through the wilderness enroute to the Promised Land, Christians are traveling through life with the New Jerusalem as their destination.  In the wilderness passages of Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, the Israelites live in tents.  Under God’s direction, they pitch tent pegs into the ground.  When told to move on, they dig them up and continue the journey.  Similarly, Christians use their time within their earthly tents to honor and glorify God and serve humankind.  We follow the Lord’s leading to accomplish the tasks He sets before us.  We are pilgrims wandering through the earth seeking to build the kingdom of God. 

In 2 Corinthians 5:4, Paul acknowledges human existence can be extremely burdensome.  The challenges, stresses and strains of life put tremendous wear and tear on any tent.  The forces of the natural elements corrode any dwelling no matter how well built and maintained.  Inevitably, the very best human tents will wear out.  When they do and the souls that inhabit them transition to eternal life, that occurrence leads to rejoicing with praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God.  God uniquely shares Himself with us through our spouses, children, family and friends who are close to us.  We are spirits who dwell in bodies, earthly tents.  Accordingly, disciples resist seduction by secular, humanistic, narcissistic, and corporate mindset of society.  God empowers believers with dynamism of the Holy Spirit to triumph over the tests and trials of life. 

Quite frankly, death is the healing that we sometimes ask of God.  “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”  In His infinite wisdom, God provides healing through many methods.  Oftentimes, His ways transcend our understanding and logic.  A faith that genuinely relies upon the goodness of God and trustworthiness of His word enables us to accept His providential actions despite our finite analysis.  Moreover, we relinquish our selfishness in wanting to hold on to our loved ones to the bitter end despite the tremendous pain and suffering they may experience.  Rather, we delight in their faith and the rewards that will await them when they finally “fold up the earthly tent.”