Living in the Present Tense
Living in the present seems like an easy enough task to complete. After all, we are here, and we always are right here, right? As I grow deeper as a person, as a husband, friend, son and pastor, it becomes very clear that we don’t live in the present very often. We stay hung up on our past actions most often. We live in the brokenness, or we live in the glory of better days. In the church, we are striving to live lives redeemed from the broken past with the hope for a better future. The gospel message has told us that future redemption is for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, we live as if we are there often times, as if the present is not worth living because it is not the promised glory. The reality is that we want to believe in being whisked away to heaven, away from this bad, awful place. In my opinion, I don’t think that is what Jesus had in mind.
The apostle Paul speaks often of the “in-breaking/not yet” kingdom, in which we live in this tension of past/present redemption and future glory! This is hope, that Christ has come, conquered, gives us the Spirit, and will be returning! Don’t get the wagon ahead of the horse though, because Christ came and bore the suffering of the world, and it is not right for us to think we can put the present on hold, neglecting all of the problems of the world, when it is those problems that are giving us opportunity to share redemption. In John 7:6, Jesus tells his disciples that there time is always “here,” and as present day disciples, I would say that is very true. We cannot change the past; instead we live in redemption. We cannot make the future get here any sooner, so we live in holy expectation. What we can do is be. We can “be” in the present, and we can be agents of change and redemption for a world that is simple falling apart.
Live in the present. Make a difference. Live as the redeemed. Know that God is taking care of you, even when that does not make sense. Faith grows in the tension; tension is the present tense of now.
The apostle Paul speaks often of the “in-breaking/not yet” kingdom, in which we live in this tension of past/present redemption and future glory! This is hope, that Christ has come, conquered, gives us the Spirit, and will be returning! Don’t get the wagon ahead of the horse though, because Christ came and bore the suffering of the world, and it is not right for us to think we can put the present on hold, neglecting all of the problems of the world, when it is those problems that are giving us opportunity to share redemption. In John 7:6, Jesus tells his disciples that there time is always “here,” and as present day disciples, I would say that is very true. We cannot change the past; instead we live in redemption. We cannot make the future get here any sooner, so we live in holy expectation. What we can do is be. We can “be” in the present, and we can be agents of change and redemption for a world that is simple falling apart.
Live in the present. Make a difference. Live as the redeemed. Know that God is taking care of you, even when that does not make sense. Faith grows in the tension; tension is the present tense of now.
posted by Levi at
10:45 AM
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