The Here and Now. The There and Then

I think a lot of people have a big problem understanding the concept of eternity.  It's a bit confusing frankly.  Most people tend to think of eternity as someplace we go after we die.  You hear phrases which seem to echo this belief all the time.  "Where we will spend all eternity".  "He/she is in eternity now."  "Do this or do that ( fill in the blank) or you will not see eternity".  The problem with this kind of thinking is this: eternity is both a future promise and a present reality.

Eternity means ALL of time.  From the beginning to the end.  This also encompasses the part  which we currently live in.  We are living in eternity now.  Part of it anyway.  There was time before us.  There will be time after us.  It is all part of eternity.  Then there is eternal life which comes after our pulses stop.  The here and now where we currently reside.  The there and then where we will someday be.  Are you confused yet?  

I used to struggle to understand this but not so much anymore.  Jesus said His kingdom was both a present reality and a coming promise.  He spent a whole lot of time talking about the kingdom of heaven.  He went to great lengths to help people understand what it is like and what it will be like when we are all there.  We live in that kingdom now in a sense.  Those in Christ are kingdom people living in a fallen world.  I think of it this way. The beauty we experience here is a down payment on that which is to come.  We see glimpses, we live bits and pieces of the kingdom of heaven while we are in the flesh and on the earth.  We can't live there all the time because this is not our home. God doesn't want us to get too comfortable here.  Our True Home comes after we die.  It is then that we go Home to stay forever, once and for all.  Where "there will be no more sorrow, and no more weeping.  Where He will wipe away every tear from our eyes.". Such a beautiful promise.....

What I have experienced here, however, are moments, hours, short periods of time, where this kingdom on earth and that one in heaven have merged and overlapped.  It is as if a veil is pulled away and we can walk into that other world.  This is the most wonderful experience imaginable.  I have had it while holding a friend's hands in prayer.  While seeing the sunrise reflected in a double rainbow after an early morning storm.  During a worship service singing something gloriously beautiful.  During early morning walks along the river while engaged in deep conversation with God.  Reading the works of AW Tozer.  These things have pulled back the veil and allowed me to dwell elsewhere for awhile.  I know that I am here.  Yet I am elsewhere at the same time.  The two kingdoms merge.  They are separate and distinct places, yet one and the same.  Both are true somehow.  That is the nature of the things of God.  They are profoundly mysterious.  

So what does any of this matter?  I don't know.  Probably little to anyone who might pause to read my ponderings.  Being Irish and a bit of a poet, I love to let my mind wander down distant trails and examine profound concepts.  Its a personality quirk, I guess!  But keeping eternity in its proper perspective also helps me to view the world around me in a way that is meaningful and hope filled.  In the here and now, it helps me to function as I need to in order to fulfill the work of this kingdom while I wait in joyful expectation of the next one in the there and then...... 

Shalom!