We often live as though the life we have been given through Jesus Christ, will only be realized at some point in the future (heaven). But it is not just future tense, it is also present tense. "I am made alive", not, "I will be made alive." I have already inherited life that I did not have before. There is an aspect of it that I am waiting for, but there is a very important aspect of the inherited life that I already have.
Our daily living - what we do from day to day - should reflect that we are, currently alive, every day, every minute, with every breath. But too often we live as though we are waiting for life. We talk about heaven as though that is all that matters and it sets our mind on the future while neglecting the present.
This also taints our view of salvation. We view salvation as deliverance from physical death and instead being given eternal life. Again, this is future tense. This focuses my efforts on what needs to be done to receive this future reward. If we teach that this future reward is based on a single event, and, if we teach that the future event is the entire focus of Christianity, then we give no reason for why our present life really matters. All that matters is the one event that gets me my ticket for the future reward. I don't need to do anything else - there are no expectations on me that matter - because I already have my ticket. Anything else I do is icing on the cake for God, not essential for the life I have been given.
But...
If we believe that eternal life begins now and if we believe that there is more to Christian faith than heaven, and if we believe that there are more than two events that matter (our "conversion" and physical death). then our present, daily, moment-to-moment life means something different. If the moment of our conversion begins a new life that we inherit now, a life that reunites us with our God who we were previously alienated from, then our lives change now and tomorrow and the next day and the next year ... If we understand that salvation and the reward of salvation is a process that begins now, then salvation, new life, has meaning for today. It has meaning for tomorrow. It has meaning everyday until THAT day, at which point it takes on a whole new, even more glorious meaning.
At the point that we become content with who we are, we have lost sight of the salvation and new life happening today, and we have convinced ourselves that they are only future events already secured by a singular experience. That seems like a sad and dangerous place to be.
Stealing from Switchfoot:
"And I wonder
Why would I wait til I die to come alive?
I'm ready now
I'm not waiting for the afterlife."
Well stated my friend
ReplyDelete