God’s Presence:
Past, Present, Future
A compilation
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Israel was established with the necessity of living in the three dimensions of time: past, present, and future. They were commanded to remember God’s words and mighty acts in history. They were called to see life as a present blessing, with faith and justice as a response to the God who gave it. And they were to live with hope in God’s good hands, such that neither death nor the future was a threat.
But Israel forgot. Neglecting their heritage, the people walked away. They pursued other loves and became enamored with the nations around them. Israel forgot their high calling, and the consequences were tragic.
The prophet Habakkuk was understandably grieved. Unable to understand what was happening to his community, the prophet walked through stages of depression, anger, acceptance, and faith. The chapters of his book move from asking “Why?” to expressing hopelessness or exclaiming anger, and finally, amazingly, to singing: “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines … yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”1
I believe there are times in life when we are on a similar journey. Though we may find ourselves stuck in one stage or another, we are invited to remember God’s involvement in our past, present, and future. Between the pages where Habakkuk cries out for God’s answer and where he ends in a mixture of fear and faith, we learn something of the ambiguity, tension, and struggle that is ours until the journey ends…
In each of the gospel narratives, the passion of Christ, his wrestling in Gethsemane, his trial and torture, are a major portion of the narratives themselves. The gospel is simply not the gospel without this focused portion of history—the death of Christ and all that surrounded it. It was a significant death, a voluntary death, a purpose-filled death. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.
If this is true, if this really happened, if indeed normal time was interrupted by an invasion of the healing, forgiving, loving, and self-giving God, then time itself was altered, history changed, life redirected.
Surely, if such is the case, then some serious and dedicated time and space should be given to remembering God’s work in history and our lives. In a fast-paced, moment-central world, this is the countercultural message of the church for the world. Scripture reminds us that the crucifixion of Jesus took place in real space and time, and therefore all of time—past, present, and future—is both important and impacted. And thus, our acts of remembrance, worship, penitence, and hope are also holy moments, moments that invite an eternal God to overshadow the immediacy of life and other lesser stories of time. Great things are indeed available: the love of God, the sacrificial death of Christ for the world, the forgiveness of sins, and the offer of new life.—Stuart McAllister2
God’s purpose in history
The Bible says [that] the world had a beginning, and that at the beginning an action began, a movement guided by divine providence to an ultimate telos—a culmination of purpose, aim, or goal. This purpose or telos of history is both personal and cosmic. Every individual moves from birth to death, from a beginning to an end that continues beyond the grave into the ages. In like manner, the world itself looks forward to a future that has been ordained by its Creator…
As people who live in the present, who have a past that we are aware of and a future that is not altogether clearly known, we nevertheless have the future promises set forth by God in His Word as an anchor for our souls. The Bible speaks of our confidence in the future in terms of the idea of “hope.” In biblical categories, hope does not indicate an unfulfilled wish that we have a desire to see come to pass. Instead, our hope is that which rests upon a certain conclusion in the future that God has promised for His people. Here hope is described by the metaphor of the anchor—the anchor of the soul.3 An anchor is not something that is tenuous or ephemeral. It has weight, it has solidity, and it is that which gives security to a ship that is moored in open water. In like manner, we live our lives in the midst of the waves that crash against us, but we are not tossed to and fro with no anchor. Our anchor is the promise of God for the future that He has laid up for His people.
It is easy to become so preoccupied with the future that we forget the past and almost ignore the marvelous reality that God has already accomplished for His people in history. History is the domain of Christ’s incarnation, atonement, resurrection, and ascension, and we can’t understand our hope for the future without understanding those things that God has already brought to pass in His plan of redemption. At the same time, we must not be so occupied with the past and with the present that we forget the hope that God has set before us in the future. So, how we live today is in large measure determined by how we understand the past as well as how we understand the future. It is because God is a God of history, a God of purpose, a God of telos that the present has eternal significance. It’s because God is the Lord of history that right now counts forever.—R. C. Sproul4
Sharing the story
Sometimes we resign ourselves to situations and circumstances because we feel there’s no hope for change, that things are what they are and that we simply have to endure them. However, God is in the business of changing things, of breathing new life into hearts, relationships, or situations that may be or seem “dead.” Perhaps you’re in a situation that seems out of your control or as if all hope is gone, but no situation is beyond Jesus’ control; His power is unlimited. When Jesus was on earth, He regularly did the impossible. He multiplied the loaves and fishes, walked on water, healed the paralyzed, and gave sight to the blind. Dead people were even raised to life.
Jesus coming to earth, dying on the cross for us, and His subsequent resurrection forever changed the course of history. These actions allowed each of us the opportunity to accept Jesus and become part of God’s family. We should be impressed with how wonderful the gift of salvation is and be moved by the great need to share it with as many as we can. This is the most precious gift anyone can possibly receive, and we who have been blessed with it should feel compelled to share it with others.
It’s easy to get so busy with our responsibilities and daily commitments, and end up feeling that there’s no time left to be one of God’s ambassadors. But is that really the case? Or is it a matter of priorities? When we give careful thought to the magnitude and meaning of the priceless gift God has given us, it motivates us to regularly share it with others.
Jesus telling His disciples to preach the gospel throughout the world to everyone informs us that He wants each man, woman, and child to have the opportunity to become a part of His family, to be saved from their sins, and to experience His forgiveness and reconciliation. We who have already received His marvelous gift, who know what it is to live within God’s family, to be forgiven for our sins, to have God’s Spirit within us, should feel compelled to share the gospel with those who are searching.—Peter Amsterdam
Published on Anchor April 2020. Read by Jerry Paladino. Music by Michael Dooley.
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