1For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. 2For most certainly in this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3if indeed being clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened, not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now he who made us for this very thing is God, who also gave to us the down payment of the Spirit.
6Therefore we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord; 7for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8We are courageous, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 9Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him. 10For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
11Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are revealed to God, and I hope that we are revealed also in your consciences. 12For we are not commending ourselves to you again, but speak as giving you occasion of boasting on our behalf, that you may have something to answer those who boast in appearance and not in heart. 13For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. Or if we are of sober mind, it is for you. 14For the love of Christ compels us; because we judge thus: that one died for all, therefore all died. 15He died for all, that those who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who for their sakes died and rose again.
16Therefore we know no one according to the flesh from now on. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no more. 17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. 18But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Don't Do it! You'll Come apart at the Seams
Wine Bursting From an Old Wineskin
Once I bought a queen-sized mattress online for my camper. It came in the mail through Amazon and when it arrived it was just a couple of feet long and a couple of feet wide. I wasn't even sure what it was until I opened the box. It was quite heavy. I carefully cut away the cardboard box and then the inner plastic package, and it quickly ballooned and expanded into a vast, firm mattress. It all happened quickly, and I'm just glad I was in a room large enough that nothing got knocked over by the expanding mattress. The challenge then came. How in the world could I compress this thing back down again to be small enough to get out of the house and into the camper door and put it up on the bunk where it was supposed to go? I tried to fold it. I attempted to compress it with a belt. I soon realized that the mattress could never be compressed enough to fit into the original package. That's like putting a new patch on old clothes or putting new fermenting wine into an old wine skin. It just won't fit. The wine will expand, and the old, stiff wine skin will break.
When you came to Christ, you were made a new creature (2 Cor 5:17). You now have the Holy Spirit residing within you, and no matter how hard you try, you will not be able to go comfortably back to your old life. Oh, you might flirt with going there and trying to fit in, but you can't fit into that package again. And you won't feel comfortable no matter how hard you try. The truth of the matter is that you are now in Jesus and He is within you. "13By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit." (1 John 4:13) You now belong in Him, and He dwells within you. That's a safe and secure place to be. It is so much better than what you came from, so relax and rest in that new relationship. You are in a very safe place. Thank the Lord today that He has made you a new creation, and today He dwells in you and you in Him. Ask Him to lead, guide, and direct you today in the way you should go. And ask yourself, "Why would I ever want to go back to where I came from?" That old lifestyle is just an "old wineskin" or an "old garment". You don't belong there anymore. If you try to fit into that old life, you’ll end up coming apart at the seams.