The Future - Part 2

You might be wondering what any of this has to do with Jesus. I did just post some stuff about Jesus being central, right? Here’s my short answer: EVERYTHING! Christ is THE central figure in this Story. In fact, He is the beginning, middle and end.

In the beginning God created…it was good. Man decided to know good and evil outside of a relationship with the Creator and brought not only a curse on all mankind, but on all of creation (Gen. 3). God set apart a group of people, called Israel, through who God would heal the world. Instead of healing the world, Israel looked at their own bellybutton and “hid their light under a bowl”. God sent His Son, Jesus, to remind Israel of their purpose, redeem the world, and heal creation. Jesus passed His authority on to a new Israel; an Israel comprised of any race who would follow Him, the Church.

In this Five Act Story that we find ourselves in, we are left without a script. But, we have the previous four acts, and we have some clues to how the Story ends that will help us improvise in the meantime. One of the critical clues we have to help us improvise is now this Story will end. I seem to remember being taught in a business class: “Begin with the end in mind.” In this grand Story that is exactly what God has done. So, what if we started thinking about how this Story is going to end… Here is where I want to focus: All creation is in the process of being healed by the Creator and will culminate in a new heaven and new earth. (Rev. 21).

As I read this passage, it sounds like this should be something the Church is looking forward too. A place where God’ rule and reign are done perfectly. A place where everything that was broken, cursed and skewed in the Fall are healed, blessed and set straight in the new heaven and new earth. This is Good News! But, don’t think this is just some future event. “This world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through”…NOOOO! Jesus said that His Gospel was: Mk 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” The kingdom is here! The kingdom is now! Respond to it! Enter into it! Join the party!

What does Jesus do after he announces access to the kingdom? Jesus was enacting, and then explaining, the kingdom. He begins to cast out demons, give sight to the blind, heal the sick and lame… Why? Was he showing off his power? No! He was implementing this kingdom, which is now available to all who will choose it. He is giving a foretaste of the time when there will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain! He is beginning the implementation of the new heaven and the new earth. Everything Jesus is doing is looking forward to the future.

Now let me put my personal experience, and belief system in this framework. For the past year or so God has been teaching me that this journey is about relationships. My relationship with Him, and my relationships with others. I will admit that my view has been centered around “me and God”, but I don’t think it stops there. If I stop there this whole kingdom project becomes about me. Much of the time, in practice, I act like the world revolves around me anyway, so it’s time for a course correction…. I think the Bible is clear that the Church is here as a little piece of the kingdom on Earth FOR THE SAKE OF THE WORLD.

The BIG STORY going on here is about God and world. It isn’t about the Law. It isn’t about you, and it isn’t about me. Our individual stories are incidental to the Big Story. It’s not that our stories don’t matter, they just need to be seen in light of the big picture. And the big picture is that God, through Jesus, is making all things new in the new heaven and new earth. Everything that went wrong in Eden is set right in the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21).

Does my personal, individual relationship with God matter? Yes! But not just to me. It matters to the world. Why? Because it is a foretaste of the time when Jer. 31:34
No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the Lord," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

We’ve all read the “one anothers” in the Bible. Why are our relationships with each other in the Body so important? Because in the new heaven and new earth the consequences of sin are fully removed and true community will exist without the shame of the Fall. We will “cast aside our fig-leaves” and “live naked” before each other and God. Creation will be restored and renewed to the way God originally intended it. We, the Church, are a witness to the world that a new time is coming when that will be reality for everyone!

In this context my transformation into Christ-likeness takes on a new meaning. Sure, God wants me to be complete and whole. But, it is not just for my sake. It is so that those missing from the Family can witness the power of kingdom come. It is so the world can see that there will be a time when “everything is made new.”

Gathering. Hmmm. Here’s one where I’ve been stretched. What are the implications of how we gather in light of the now and future kingdom? Every nation, race, people and tongue will be represented. It’s a very “large gathering”. There is “corporate” worship going on... Does this kind of gathering have a message or purpose for the world?

Anyway, the bottom line is this: The Church exists for the sake of the world. We are a foretaste of the kingdom of God which will be fully revealed in the new heaven and new earth. We are a piece of the kingdom on earth, not just for our sake, for our healing, for our renewal, for our comfort, for our joy, but so the world can see kingdom now! As we improvise our part in the Story, we do so in light of the parts of the script we know, and our story becomes part of The Story...

What other implications do you see in our beliefs and practice in light of the Story?