Faith Grounded, Serve in, Live for
27 May 2007
As you begin to read this article I’d like you to think about where you live. No, I don’t mean the house where you reside, nor the community that you call home, or the country of which you are a citizen. The answer to this question of your residence is not WHERE, but WHEN! In other words, if you were honest about yourself, do you live in the Past, Present or Future?
To live in the Past means to long for the way things used to be. It means to evaluate the ways of yesterday as good, better, right, and the ways of today as, well, not right. This kind of thinking leads to resisting new ways, and failing to pass the baton off to the next generation. Now, I’m not suggesting that everything that is new is right or better. Far from it. Much that we call progress, isn’t. But this doesn’t justify not wanting to change or move forward.
To live in the Present isn’t much better. Present-dwellers are always in the Now. They are content with Today, because that is all that really matters. They really don’t care about the Past for that is history and doesn’t apply to them; and they really don’t give much thought to the Future for that takes too much effort. To live in the moment means to not really have any convictions about much of anything, for whatever happens is fine. Since there are no goals or destination, only the journey matters.
To live in the Future, much to your surprise, isn’t the preferred location either. Futurists may speculate on what is coming next, but they usually are disconnected to both the Past and Present. Our history is rejected as embarrassing, and what is current is pitiful compared to what could be, what might be. If only the right kind of thinking was promoted and proper laws were enacted then the type of society that would really make a difference for humanity could be created. This is not about dreaming or having vision; this is about an elitist attitude toward the rest of us who just don’t get it.
So what does this mean for the Christian? How do we who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior answer the question “where do we live”? The answer, it seems to me, is that in Christ we live in all three at the same time. How is this possible?
To be a Christian means to honor the past. Ours is a Faith that is rooted in history. What identifies us as believers is an event that occurred in a particular place and time. To defend our belief is to defend history, and declare that the message first given 2000 years ago can still be trusted (see Jude 3).
Our faith is grounded in the past, but we live in the present. It is today in which we serve our Lord. We don’t try to hold on the past ways of doing things, but seek to keep the message of hope and salvation fresh and relevant to the current time in which we live. The Gospel never changes, but the methods and styles must if we are to reach each new generation with His Truth (see 1 Corinthians 9:22).
However, we are also to live in the future. The promise of Christ is that we are going somewhere. There is a hope for tomorrow, there is a destination. We are not to stay as we are individually for we must be growing in our faith. And we have a home waiting for us in Heaven. Because of that we must be wise in our decisions, not to let our desire for the way things used to be, nor our satisfaction for the way things are, to keep us from pressing on to the goal to which we are called (see Philippians 3:14).
A new Christian singing group named 33 Miles has a song called What Could Be Better. Here they declare their understanding of “where we live” when they sing: I’m living in the days ahead, I’m already dancing on the streets of gold. Can’t stop celebrating in my soul, I’m living in the days ahead. Nothing on earth could ever compare. Can’t wait for the day when I get there. When I see Jesus face to face, Tell me what could be better?
Yes our Faith is grounded in the Past and we serve in the Present, but we must always live in the days ahead. For without that goal, that desire, we lose sight of why we are here, what our mission is, and that all our decisions should be less about earth and our comforts and desires, and more about Heaven. So where do you live?
Denis Whittet
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