“Here and now is not all that there is. Discuss!”. What would you say if presented with that exam question? Would you talk about the past, reminiscing over a bygone era in which the summers were sunny and only the good bits are remembered? Alternatively, would your thinking wander to the future and talk about your fears for what might be or maybe your hopes for the time when you’re gone? Or perhaps your reaction is to ‘duck’ the question and change the subject, willing only to talk about the reality of the present because actually your only concern is with the ‘here and now’?
Last Sunday morning we stopped to think about the implications of the future on what it means to be a church today: as we opened the last pages of the Bible in Revelation chapters 21 & 22, we were presented with almost indescribably wonderful hope and glory. The prospect of our gracious God wiping away our tears and then banning the very cause of crying itself and then dwelling with us forever surely fills us with anticipation for what is to come?
The Bible says that those who trust in the saving work of the Lord Jesus and know Him as Lord, live our lives now as citizens of the new creation – giving the broken world around us an imperfect glimpse of the new creation that God has in store for those who love Him.
Referring to it as the home of righteousness, the apostle Peter’s comment on the implications of this hope are challenging:
“…what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.” (2 Peter 3:11,12)
There is much to discuss!
Spencer Shaw