“Future” hope
I was challenged this week as I listened to “The Story We Find Ourselves In” to think of past, present and future in different terms. Brian McLaren challenges us to re-orient our thinking regarding the concept of time. He states that we often think that our future is being determined by the events that took place in the past. Past events determine both our present and our future. We see history as being pushed from behind. Cause and effect. Brian states, “I guess you could say that for most people, God hovers over the present moment and intervenes as the chain of events that He started long ago kind of rolls on beneath Him. What if, instead of seeing the present pushed into the future by the past, we see the past being pushed out of the present by the future.” You may need to read that again. Instead of seeing the present pushed into the future by the past, we see the past being pushed out of the present by the future. God is constantly inviting history into the gift of the future. You might say God is inviting us into the Kingdom of God.
This was not only a beautiful concept, but also one that resonated with me. So often, in my Christian walk, I feel as though the focus was on either the “fall” or “heaven”- my inexorable sinfulness or future Glory. None of which really seemed to help me today. But, what if, just what if future Glory is pushing out sinfulness? What if that is one of the things Jesus meant when he said, “Come, follow me.” Follow me, into the future; follow me into the Kingdom of God. Don’t look back. The death and resurrection of Jesus inaugurated this mysterious Kingdom. Jesus is already ruling. He is taking us from where we are, (or where we’ve been), under the rule of death, greed, selfishness, hate and wickedness-and inviting us into this new Kingdom. This subversive, upside-down, inside-out Kingdom. He is inviting us to step into the future and partake in bringing about the full measure of the Kingdom. The project of the Kingdom goes forward, through His people. We are the agents of the Kingdom. Go out, tell people about the good news of the Kingdom, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers (or touch the untouchables), drive out demons, and then say, “The Kingdom of God has come near you this day.” The Kingdom is present, here and now, to be touched and experienced and to be shared with others. Your Kingdom come, on earth, right now, as it will also be in the coming completion of the Kingdom when all evil is defeated.
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