2 Corinthians 5:9-10
9 So whether we are at home in the body or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

In the larger context of chapter 5, which discusses our souls being “clothed” with the “earthly tent” of our physical bodies, Paul’s instruction about living “at home in the body or away” takes on a significant spiritual meaning. Indeed, everything we do with our bodies while we have them is done in God’s sight, and we will need to account for why we have done these things.

“But wait,” you might ask. “When one accepts Christ, isn’t his/her sin cleansed away? Why do I have to ‘account’ for sin when Jesus’ sacrifice is supposed to cover it?”

This very same question was uppermost in my mind, too, until I studied more about holy living while on earth (which is what this passage concerns). Before Jesus, the only way to get to Heaven was to follow Mosaic Law, laid down in the first five books of the Old Testament (also known as the Pentateuch). Through following the Law, you would become righteous enough in God’s sight to be accepted into Heaven.

Problem? Nobody could follow the Law all the time–thus, nobody could really be righteous enough to go to Heaven. Thus, why God bridged the impossible gap between Him and humanity with His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus’ sinless life, blameless death on the cross, and glorious resurrection stood in for us; when we accept that His sacrifice was meant for us, our sins become covered by the grace of that wondrous act.

Accepting that grace, however, is not carte blanche for us to sin all we want. Once we become Christian, we do not have to live holy for our own redemption, but we DO have a responsibility to live holy as a good representative of Christianity. That is what Paul is discussing in this part of 2 Corinthians: living holy so that we represent God well while we’re here on Earth. We may no longer follow Mosaic Law for the purpose of being worthy to go to Heaven, but we need to make sure our words and deeds point the way back to God.

Think about it this way: if all Christians behaved like the secular world, why would anybody want to learn about the faith? If there is no visible difference between the people of the Christian church and the people of other beliefs (or of no beliefs), no one will be interested enough to find out about God. It’s our responsibility as Christians to live a Christlike life, to glorify God and to show others the way as well.

2 Corinthians 4:16
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

Paul couldn’t have said it better. Our life on earth drags at us, ages us, weighs us down with responsibilities and stress, and can even force us into depression and anxiety. Things weren’t much different when Paul was writing–life was still touch and go in most of the small villages and towns he visited, and in most of the new churches he was helping to start. People struggled day to day to exist, let alone think or worship.

That’s why Paul sought to encourage people (here, the people of the fledging Corinthian church) not to let their faith flag or falter. He knew times would be hard for them, but he nurtured them by talking about their earthly selves as the “outer self,” and the spirit as the “inner self.” While their earthly selves could and would be vulnerable to fear, doubt, guilt, pain, rage, and hatred, God could directly touch and renew their inner selves, their spirits, because they believed in Christ’s power to save and forgive their sins through His sacrifice. Because they believed in a just and loving God, they could trust in Him to help them through the sorrows of their lives, and therefore, they would be rid of worries and guilt a lot sooner.

God does the same for us, if we stop worrying, fretting, and squirming long enough to let Him be part of our lives. For me, God’s Word was hard for me to get into at first, but since I began studying it closer (especially as part of my “Wednesday in the Word” segments on this very blog), I have found myself becoming heartened by what I read. Just as God renewed David’s strength, just as He encouraged Abraham, just as He reached out through Jesus to comfort the woman convicted of adultery, He can hold our souls in His hands and heal them.

But we have to be willing to trust Him completely–otherwise, we’re lulled into believing that we’re strong enough to handle everything in our lives. Then, we become trapped by our own self-sufficiency, and we forget that God is there…and then, we stop believing He exists because we don’t feel Him in our lives anymore. Paul reminds us not to forget that God is there, and that God is ready, willing, and able to renew us spiritually, to help us stay heartened and encouraged despite the problems we face.