Luke 3 :: Now & Later

Luke 3

As I read through the first six verses today, I was reminded of these:

Do you remember these candies of greatness?  The problem I had with the Now & Later was that when you put the candy in your mouth NOW, you sure weren't going to finish it until LATER.  Those candies were hard.  Now they have soft versions of the candy that is much better.  But what does that have to do with the first six verses of Luke?  Glad you asked.

The baby born in chapter one is now grown up and making quite a stir along the Jordan River (I'm sure Cameron has a story about standing right where John preached!).  He underlines his message of life-change and the forgiveness of sins with words from the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah:

Thunder in the desert! 

"Prepare God's arrival! 

Make the road smooth and straight! 

Every ditch will be filled in, 

Every bump smoothed out, 

The detours straightened out, 

All the ruts paved over. 

Everyone will be there to see 

The parade of God's salvation."

When Isaiah wrote these words for the Israelites, there was no Messiah on the horizon.  The Messiah was not in a back room and just about to bust onto the scene.  When they heard these words, they were definitely LATER.

So now John is quoting these words, but the people have heard this already.  They had been longing for this day to come and no one had spoken a word from God for 400 years.  The people hearing this did not know anything but anticipation and now they are being told that what they have been waiting for all this time is now here.  We know that the Messiah was in their midst, but they didn't know that.  For them, it may have been, "Yeah right.  We've heard this before."  It's still LATER, but it's really NOW and they just don't know it yet.

When we read it today, we may be tempted to hear it like they did - as LATER, also.  When Jesus comes back he will smooth the roads, fill in ditches, smooth out bumps, straighten out detours, pave ruts over...what a parade that will be!  For us the LATER is definitely the NOW... & LATER.

I love this because this is what makes the good news good news.  We don't have to wait until we die, but Jesus brought the kingdom of heaven here to earth and our eternity.  Because of Jesus, we don't have to settle for potholes and detours, in hope for a better tomorrow LATER.  We can have a better today.  The hungry can get food NOW, the thirsty can get water NOW, the captive can be set free NOW, the blind can see NOW, the crippled can walk NOW.  That's good news.

But why do we still settle for potholes and detours?  It doesn't appear to be about Jesus as much as it is about us.  There are definitely things that seem to be LATER things, but I'm afraid that by focusing on LATER that we may be missing out on the NOW.  How can we be about the Father's business on earth as it is in heaven?  

But those are just my ramblings for today.  What did you see?

If you want to dialogue, but don't want to post, feel free to email me here.

Core Belief :: ETERNITY

We believe there is a heaven and a hell and that Jesus Christ is returning to judge the earth and to establish his eternal kingdom.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. My Father's house has plenty of room; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going,"

John 14:1-4 (TNIV)

"Some glad morning when this life is over I'll fly away..." "Heaven's our place, it's where we belong..." "In the sweet by and by, we will meet on that beautiful shore..." These are all pieces of songs I have sung in the church about heaven. We've talked about the streets of God and the mansions. Here are some other familiar lyrics about heaven:

"Baby you're all that I want / When you're lyin' here in my arms / I'm findin' it hard to believe / We're in heaven" - Bryan Adams

"I've been lost in my own place / And I'm gettin' weary / How far is heaven?" - Los Lonely Boys

"God is comin' on day number seven / and he won't call me nigga when I go to heaven." - Ice Cube

"But I'm going to heaven son there's no reason to cry / I'm so excited today I'm gonna die / God says he loves me and I love him too / Yes, I have struggled, but now suffering's through" - Suicidal Tendencies

"Heaven help us now / Come crashing down / We'll hear the sound / As you're falling down" - My Chemical Romance

Everyone, everywhere has a different opinion about heaven. For some it's a rescue from social oppression. For others it's the height of ecstasy, either with drugs or with sex. For many it's just a symbol of escape. For us, heaven is a piece of a much bigger pie called ETERNITY. We believe there is a heaven and a hell and that Jesus Christ is returning to establish his eternal kingdom.

Eternity is a funny word. It's a word that most of us view in forward. However, it also carries with it a backward. It's our belief that eternity is the dimension of timelessness where God resides - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the Bible, God says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8). He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). This realm of timelessness produces a dilemma in our world of time, especially for those of us attempting to reconcile our experiences to God's Truth.

Most discussion about heaven in the church is focused around the future reunion with Jesus. Unfortunately, we often miss the present reality of his Eternal Kingdom when we stay there. When Jesus came, he declared that the Kingdom of God is here. He ushered in some part of that timeless space into the time where you and I exist. He prayed that the Father's will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. The redemption of humanity and this earth had begun with the entrance of Jesus.

Our belief in eternity changes our perspective on this life. Because we believe that eternity isn't all out in the future, but is partly here and now, we can experience this reality today. We can experience a little bit of heaven on earth when we pass out a cup to the thirsty, or bread to the hungry, or clothes to the naked or a coin to the poor. Eternity is realized when we live now the way we will live then. When we don't judge each other because of the clothes we wear or the color of our skin. We can taste eternity when we are known and know others, when we celebrated and are celebrated by others, when we love and are loved by others.

I know that Jesus left this earth after his resurrection to complete the work on our final destination. The day I get to see that final place will be awesome, but for now I don't want to live "so heavenly minded that I'm no earthly good." This is why our belief in eternity is important - we are part of God's redemptive agency here today. Amazing.