With Christ there begins a radically new phase of history, almost as radical as that begun at the original creation. However, this new age, in which lamb and wolf will lie down together and in which we will be drawn to ecstatic union with God and each other, though already here, is not yet fully realized. It still needs to be brought to full completion. This will happen only when Christ returns in glory at the end of time. In the interim, in the time between Christ's resurrection and his return, we live in a time of tension between the already and not yet. We are already redeemed, already living in the Spirit, already raised from the dead, and already in radical community of life with God and each other. The kingdom of God is already here. However, it is not yet here in all its fullness. We are still awaiting full redemption, awaiting complete life in the Spirit, awaiting full resurrection, and awaiting full ecstatic community with God and each other.
We live in the end time, but in an interim phase of that period. Moreover, the phase in which we live is not characterized by complete fulfillment, but rather by tension. The old sage Qoheleth says, "There is a time for everything!" Our own time in salvation history is a time of partial fulfillment, a time of incompleteness, a time of waiting, a time of working, a time of pilgrimage and partial loneliness. We actually possess the new life, but possess it in faith, in hope, and in charity. Here we live in tension and incompleteness; having something, but not fully; living in hope, but having to hope against hope; living in faith, but having to gamble real life on seeming unreality; living in charity, but having to love and work unselfishly in the face of incompleteness and loneliness.
- from "The Restless Heart"
We live in the end time, but in an interim phase of that period. Moreover, the phase in which we live is not characterized by complete fulfillment, but rather by tension. The old sage Qoheleth says, "There is a time for everything!" Our own time in salvation history is a time of partial fulfillment, a time of incompleteness, a time of waiting, a time of working, a time of pilgrimage and partial loneliness. We actually possess the new life, but possess it in faith, in hope, and in charity. Here we live in tension and incompleteness; having something, but not fully; living in hope, but having to hope against hope; living in faith, but having to gamble real life on seeming unreality; living in charity, but having to love and work unselfishly in the face of incompleteness and loneliness.
- from "The Restless Heart"
3 comments:
Hey Anthony!
Just wanted to say 'Thanks' for sharing your thoughts with all the girls last nite regarding Heaven and Hell! It's always really cool to listen to others insights and then continue to roll over in your own head what things you believe and find all kinds of questions to answer those questions.:0) Hope I didn't throw you for a loop by playing a little bit of 'devil's advocate'. They were just thoughts that came to mind and I had to verbally put them out there.
Look forward to talking about angels and demons next week! I've got a story to tell (actually a few) but I want to hear what others have to say, so I may keep a lot of it to myself AND...
I think there's a few that will think I've totally lost it. I told Amanda, Jacque, Mindy and Rochelle about an experience CJ had when he was about 3 and I wasn't sure how they took it. Although Mindy told us about something Adia did that sounded really similar to CJ's, so I'm pretty sure she could relate.
I realize I need to be selective in what I say b/c some of this stuff a lot of youth have not experienced yet. (So you all will thinking I'm completely WACKED!) :0) Although a lot of you are at the starting point!
C'ya Wednesday!
I'm actually very happy that you played the role of "devil's advocate." Too often, I think, we let others mold our beliefs without actually thinking them through ourselves. I'm thankful that you voiced your differing opinions; it helps me re:define my beliefs as well as lead others to really think about what they believe. Christians aren't robots, we're human beings; we aren't programmed to believe the right things, we must discover what we believe for ourselves.
I hope next Wednesday will be a time to throw around lots of stories. I really don't have much planned: just talk about where angels and demons come in and talk about how they intersect our lives. I mostly want it to be a time to throw out stories of how we've experienced the "spiritual dimension" in our own lives, whether in good ways (GOD's angels) and bad ways (fallen angels).
I definitely believe there is a spiritual realm we don't see I always like to hear the "personal experiences"
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