May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. (2 Corinthians 5:1-9)

In Christ's name and to his glory, dear friends: A man inspects his little garden. He's looking for signs of life. He pushes away the mulch. There it is--little green nubs pushing out of the ground. It's alive. He has hope of enjoying another growing season. A very tired mom wakes suddenly from a deep sleep. It's been hours since she laid her little newborn down...not a peep out of him. She was sleeping so soundly maybe she didn't hear him. Might something be wrong? She moves silently but quickly to the basinet. She's looking for signs of life. She bends down, just inches from his little head. In the glow of the nightlight she can see the pulse of his little soft spot. She can see his little chest heaving out and in; she can hear him breathing. Her little boy is alive. Mom and dad are filled with hope for the future.

Our creator made our world full of life. And ever since sin made life fragile and temporary and death entered our world, we creatures made by God to live are always looking for signs of life. And there are many such signs of life in plant life, animal life and human life. Every sign gives us reassurance that life continues with hope and a future. But eventually death does come. The Bible tells us that sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12). What then? Is there no future? You know what God says-he who believes in me will live even though he dies. (John 11:25) His Word, which does not lie, tells us of the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting in heaven. And for reassurance the Lord has added to his Word signs of eternal life. He's planted them in our hearts already now to give us hope for the life to come. Today he speaks of these SIGNS OF ETERNAL LIFE. Let's listen.

One sign of eternal life is knowing. We know, says the Apostle Paul. Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. This knowing is the same as, is part of, the faith God has planted in us. We know because, as Paul says, God has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (v. 5). What we know is that our present existence is not all there is. We know our present life is only temporary, as when we set up tents at a campsite. We're here only a little while. But when camping is over, we know we have a house, a building, a home that is not so fragile or temporary. We know that's waiting for us. And we know that this permanent, solid home is not our doing. Our hands, our sins, have made our lives now--temporary and full of trouble and pain. But our life to come is not built by human hands. It's all the Lord's gracious doing. He created our heavenly home. He sent his Son to redeem us from our sins and to give us his robes of righteousness so that we will not be found naked on Judgment Day. He sent his Spirit to give us faith to believe and so be saved. Our blessed future is God's gracious doing.

We, the Apostle says, he, you, I-we know. It's a sign of life. Stop and think what God has placed in your heart. Why are you here this morning? It's because you know. We know that life here does not last. We know that when we die we face the Judgment and that we must be ready. We know how terrible that day would be if all we had to defend ourselves was our own feeble attempts to follow God. We know of our Redeemer and his forgiveness bought for us at Calvary. We know he has cleansed us. We know that our future is heaven. All this knowing is a sign of eternal life. We have hope and a future. We especially know it on days like Easter, and when God makes us lean on it as when some Christian loved one dies. But we know it every day too.

Another sign of life is longing. We long, says the Apostle. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling. Later he says, we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. We know only a little bit of what lies ahead in heaven; God hasn't told us too much. But when we compare the little we know of our heavenly existence to what we experience here in our earthly life-we long for heaven. This is another sign of life. It's not that we are cowards and selfish and just want to get out. When Paul says, we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life, he infers that our longing is not so much a running from trouble as a running toward the glory of heaven. This too is from God. After the first sin he cursed the ground and painted an ominous picture of what life would be like now that sin was in the world. Pain, toil...by the sweat of your brow will you get your food...dust you are and to dust you will return (Genesis 3:15f). God did that so none of his children would ever say: I want to stay here. God did that so that when we speak to unbelievers about what God has prepared for us in Christ, it would make people hunger for the better things of heaven and seek to enter there through Christ.

We, the Apostle says, he, you, I-we long to be living in heaven. It's a sign of life. Stop and think how you long for the better life in heaven. Some of us are in the spring of life; you're young, really just preparing for taking up your adult duties in this life. Maybe you long less for heaven than your parents and grandparents. But every little set back (and life has plenty) is the Lord's way of awakening in you this sign of life-longing for the better life in heaven. Don't get too comfortable here; long for a better land. And some of you don't need to be reminded to long for heaven. The Lord perhaps has let your life become very difficult or you take care of loved ones whose life has become so and you long for heaven for them. In all your longing, see the blessing of that longing. It's the Lord's sign to you that you have better things to come. And especially if you long earnestly for heaven, pay attention to the last sign.

One last sign of life is striving. We strive, says the Apostle. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. We strive to live a godly life. Because we know of heaven and long for it and because we know how the Lord has prepared all this for us out of his grace and mercy, we strive to show him our thankfulness by how we live. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). Though a Christian knows the great things that are to come, he also knows the great honor of staying here as long as God wants and serving him by loving God and neighbor. So we patently strive for godliness. It's another sign that eternal life has been planted in our hearts.

We, the Apostle says, he, you, I-we strive to please God. It's a sign of life. Every reminder of the Lord's blessing will renew in us the determination to live for God. So stay near him. Nurture this wonderful sign of life feeding it with your presence here and it will be all the stronger.

The knowing, the longing, the striving-praise be to our Risen Lord for these signs of eternal life. Amen