CONSIDERING THE FUTURE

" . . . you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come" (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, NKJV). Properly viewed, life in Christ is primarily futuristic. It has more to do with potentialities than the present, and with consummation than commencement. Hope towers over present experience, bringing joy and consolation to believers. This is not to say that we have not received an abundance, "now in this time" (Mark 10:30). In addition to meeting our temporal needs, our Lord fills us "with all joy and peace in believing" (Rom 15:13). We receive inner strength (Eph 3:16), continual cleansing (1 John 1:7), and the fellowship of God's Son (1 Cor 1:9). Our great High Priest is able to "keep us from falling" (Jude 24,25), and every temptation comes with a way of escape, created by our Lord (1 Cor 10:13). However, as great and indispensable as these things are, they are not the fulfillment of God's desire for us, or our desire for Him. Faith has made us "strangers and pilgrims" in the earth (1 Pet 2:11), ushering us into a condition where "much tribulation" and suffering are experienced (John 16:33; Acts 14:22). But that will not be the final portion of the children of God! We are looking to the future for the ripened grain of salvation! Believers are not content with the beginning of life, they want its maturity. Now, by God's grace, we experience the "firstfruits of the Spirit." That first ripe grain, however, has also produced a groaning "within ourselves," as we "eagerly" wait "for the adoption, the redemption of our body" (Rom 8:23). What you have today is an introduction to what you will experience "in the world to come" (Luke 18:30). Our text speaks of the past, the present, and the future. Concerning the past, we "turned from idols." In the present, we "serve the true and living." But our eye is set on the future! We have been inducted into a mode of life where we "wait for His Son from heaven." That hope is an "anchor of the soul" (Heb 6:19), bringing spiritual stability during our earthly sojourn. Only the future will bring complete deliverance from the curse! The "continuing city" for which we long, will only be fully realized in the future, never in this world (Heb 13:14). Hope is faith in a forward posture. It makes the believer goal-oriented--and the goal is an eternal one. This frame of mind enabled Moses to leave unspeakable earthly advantage in expectation of receiving a reward from God (Heb 11:26). Early Christians were subjected to atrocities and malicious hatred in this world. Some of them experienced the confiscation of their goods, yet were strong in faith. We are apprized they lived for the future, knowing they had "in heaven a better and an enduring substance" (Heb 10:34). The future! The future! That is everything for the child of God! It is then that we shall "be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:1-3). Then, and only then, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" (Rev 21:4). For the faithful, the future will be noted for God praising us (1 Cor 4:5)! It is then that the devil will once and for all be "cast into the lake of fire," together with every thing and every one who opposed the people of God (Rev 19:20; 20:11). This is why we are waiting for God's Son from heaven! Take this from us, and we become vulnerable to every artifice of the devil. Give this to us, and we will purify ourselves, even as He is pure (1 John 3:3). In the coming year, set your compass toward heaven! Fill your heart and mind with the wonderful promises of God. Set your affection on things above, and not on things on the earth. If things are going unusually well for you, do not rejoice in that! Rather, rejoice because your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). Your inheritance is in heaven, reserved there for you by God (1 Pet 1:4). That is where your citizenship is (Phil 3:20). The Object of your faith is there, and the objective of your faith is to arrive in the presence of the Lord. Now look there! Think about your eternal future! Remember, "We are saved by hope" (Rom 8:24-25). PRAYER POINT: Father, give me grace to look beyond this world! I know by experience of its disappointments, and I long to be with You, where there are no disappointments. Thank you for the effectiveness of waiting for Your Son! Send Him quickly!

-- MONDAY: INCENTIVES AND AWARDS --