2 Corinthians 5:1-5

For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us (educated?) for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

Perhaps medical bracelets (like diabetics wear) with 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 embossed on them would be appropriate for us groaners. When people hear us moaning as we get up, sit down or get started, we can just point to our bracelet and relieve their concerns; “Oh, they’re just Groaners.” Hopefully though we can do this with a wink so they can see that in spite of the downward trends of our bodies, our spirits are soaring upward.

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

I have to be honest, it is very tempting to loose heart as my outer man is decaying and loosing strength. I read in Proverbs; The glory of young men is their strength (Pr 20:29). I totally get this. I have attempted to hang desperately onto each and every shred of my strength as it has bid me adieu. Research shows that men reach the peak of strength between 30 and 35. It is hard to believe that my downward slide began 3 decades ago! (Hmm. As I recall that is when the doctor’s first diagnosed my depression.) It appears to be a settled matter in nature that while in these bodies fading glory is our destiny. Before we write our own obituary though let’s explore this a bit. Does the gospel of the Kingdom have any rest-of-the-story off-setting good news? I believe it does. Let’s try and ferret it out with the rest of Proverbs 20:29

    The glory of young men is their strength and the honor of old men is their gray hair.

And with the rest of 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2Corinthians 4:16-18

Along my ongoing 30 year slide I have developed my own version of Proverbs 20:29. (I pray this is not a Revelation 22:18-19 level – modification of God’s Word. This would not be too wise.)

 The glory of young men is their strength and the honor of old men is their wisdom. RLC Paraphrase

Forgive me. You are about to experience one of those clutch-less shifts from one gear to a seemingly unrelated one… Speaking of discipleship……

If you seek to make disciples, you always get the church. If you seek to build a church, you rarely get disciples.

This is an ultra-wise statement by Mike Bren from his book; Building a Discipling Culture. But what does discipling look like? Will discipleship begin and end with the local church’s 2015 curriculum? How did the early church do discipleship in the pre-curricuulum dispensation? It seems obvious that discipleship from a biblical perspective could never be confined to a curriculum since it is essentially what is going on between a believer’s heart and his Lord. With the Spirit of Truth indwelling our hearts, our darkness could (for those who cooperate with Jesus’ Life within), be exposed and dealt with. (Note: Here in this heart the kingdom grows) However, those endeavoring to build church numerically do not get communities of disciples because having one’s heart exposed and walking in the light is not why most people attend church.

Jesus, as Lord of the heart, is the ultimate invasion of privacy – not exactly what the average western believer signs up for; “How anti-American! My forefather’s fought for these rights of mine! Blood has been spilled to guarantee my right to pursue happiness (as I define it)!” We will return now to groaning, the topic of this post – by way of wisdom, which we might think of as living in harmony with unseen reality. Again; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Where does affliction come from? Persecution? These circumstances which cause us to groan?  I tell you a mystery; it doesn’t matter. It only matters how we respond to them. If we are His disciples (personally mentored students), we will know that temporal affliction (whatever its origin) can be exchanged for an eternal weight of glory, far beyond all comparison.  Another glory & age-orinted principle of wisdom comes from Psalm 90:12;

                Teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

Needing to attend two funerals today will contribute its obvious wisdom; riding two hours in a car with my bad back as company will add the amen.

What is going on in life, for those with awakened and willing eyes is a first-class education at KU (Kingdom University). Advanced degrees are available to those grasping that they are not victims of random mayhem since the writer of KU’s curriculum is both sovereign and benevolent; plus…He is family. All disciples attend KU. The campuses are scattered throughout the world wherever the students awaken each day. I believe this insight is courtesy of grey hair and wisdom.

Aging is merely light affliction which is producing for myself and my groaning classmates (if we are teachable) an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. Embedded by grace into all the circumstance-based homework of our days are the things our Lord would use to actually become our Lord.  When we learn to respond in Christ to our trials and tests (walking in His Spirit), we are presenting to Him our hearts of wisdom. This is how the qualitative-growth of the campus occurs. This is how the inevitable growth of the kingdom takes place -Thy will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

What is mortal is being swallowed up by Life. He who is educating us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

Shall we seize our day since it turns out there are so many transformational opportunities present within it, designed that we might better know our Provost?

Father, we even groan at our groaning. Only you can get us through today’s lessons. None of us can enter class nor earn a single credit outside of your grace and mercy. If the wisdom of gray hair has taught us anything it is that it is not by the might or power of our strength that the kingdom is built but by Your Spirit. Give us those awakened and willing eyes. Grant us those steadfast hearts that will do their homework. We each want to stand before you and hear your “Well done.” This shall be our diploma. Amen.