2 Corinthians 5:8 (ASV)

Passage

we are of good courage, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 5:6 Being therefore always of good courage, and knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord

2 Corinthians 5:7 (for we walk by faith, not by sight);

2 Corinthians 5:8 we are of good courage, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:9 Wherefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well-pleasing unto him.

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things [done] in the body, according to what he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "good", "courage", "willing", "rather", "absent", "body", "home", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "good" and "courage", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "for we walk by faith not by..." into verse 9's "Wherefore also we make it our aim...", so "good" and "courage" belong inside that flow. In 2 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "good" and "courage" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.