The Future Is Now
People have long been fascinated, even obsessed, with the future. Man’s inability to know it with certainty and thus the uncertainty it holds have only served to intensify his interest in and concern with it. This has been illustrated by stories of time machines and time travel. It is also illustrated by those who consult with mediums and others who claim to have knowledge of the future. Those of us who know Christ and seek to follow Him, know that the future is beyond us and belongs to those secret things that belong to God alone (see Deuteronomy 29:29).
But while the follower of Christ rests in the providence of God and trusts Him to bring His will to pass, he is also bound by a Biblical sense of personal responsibility. We do not succumb to the shortsighted philosophy of “Que sera sera”. Our sovereign God works through secondary causes and holds us accountable for how we live our lives in the present and the decisions we make that will affect the future. Abram, or Abraham, illustrates this with his lies about his wife to save his own neck and his willingness to invoke the custom of using one’s wife’s handmaiden to insure a descendent. Joseph’s brothers also show us that while God is sure to accomplish His purposes, we are no less responsible for our sinful actions which He may use to bring those purposes to pass.
All of this is to remind us that while we cannot insure the salvation of our descendants, we are nonetheless responsible to pray and act with a view to such an outcome. As he brought his Pentacostal sermon to a close, Peter challenged his listeners with these words: “For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to as many as The Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:39) The Gospel has always been futuristic. Christ is building His church and will do so until He returns, with an assured result. But He uses means, and the “means ‘r’ us”.
So for the Christian the future is now. We live with a passion for the present success of the Gospel and a commitment a “Gospel future”. As the people of God, we must live our lives with the future in view. We must order our homes, our churches, and every aspect of lives with a view to the salvation of our descendants. Can you envision your descendants 100 years from now passionately following Christ, facing whatever dangers this world may throw their way with the resolve to know Christ and to make Him known? Can you envision them more devoted to Christ and His Gospel, more fearless in service, more heedless of riches and security.
What do you envision for you children, their children, and beyond. Make your decisions, live your lives, pray to your God with these things in mind. For the future is now!
Charles Cavanaugh
