Between Times  

Jeremiah 29:4 - 7

There is a parallel between the times of the prophet Jeremiah and our own days. The people of his day were living in exile, because of their collective disobedience they were taken to Babylon where they were to remain until God re-established them in the city and land of their inheritance. In the meantime they were to live in the place where God had sent them in anticipation of a future when they would live under the rule and authority of the King of Kings. While we have not been taken into a physical exile, as the people of Israel were, we are living under the authority of an alien ruler whose desires are contrary to the plans of God, and we do live in anticipation of the time when Jesus will return and establish his reign.

The times we live in lie between Christ’s ascension into heaven and his return in glory, in the meantime our world is under the rule and authority of Satan, the one who stands in absolute opposition to God and his purposes for humankind. These times are appointed by God and will end when he decides they should. While there are things that we can and should be doing which God requires before the return of his Son, we cannot bring forward the day, it is an appointed time and part of God’s eternal purpose. When the disciples questioned Jesus about his return in Acts 1, he answered that it was not for them to know when and how this would happen but in the meantime there was work for them to do. That work was to be witnesses to the things they had seen and heard, to be heralds of the good news by the power of the Holy Spirit that would indwell them.

We live in anticipation of the return of Jesus Christ; we are living as aliens in a land under the authority of a ruler whose plans, purposes, values and intentions are in direct opposition to our king. This isn’t our land; we are strangers here. It is inevitable then that there will be a clash between our values and those that belong to this world. One of the challenges this poses for us is how to succeed in the world of work, family and community while having different purposes and motivations from those we live amongst. Is it possible to survive, let alone succeed, in the business world without conforming to the standards and expectations of those around us? Paul’s answer to this dilemma was to instruct his readers to be transformed by the renewing of their minds; he went on to say that this was the most reasonable form of worship they could offer (Romans 12:1-3) The solution to successful Christian living in the midst of alien land is not to enforce a set of rules and regulations but to do those things that will serve to renew our minds. Once our minds have been renewed then there will be no problem in deciding between the various choices we are faced with. Rather than try to live under a set of prohibitions, most of which we will occasionally fail to keep, we should focus on filling our hearts and minds with those things that will serve to bring our lives into harmony with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Too often Christians put themselves under a tremendous burden of guilt by following self-imposed disciplines, assuming that this is what it means to live a righteous life. God puts the emphasis on the positive rather than the negative, instead of concentrating on what you shouldn’t do focus on those things that will renew your mind. Fill your thoughts with the word of God, communicate regularly with Him in prayer, seek out the fellowship of others whose desire is to grow in Christ, and commit yourself to doing his will in your home, community and place of work. In this way your mind will be renewed and the details of life will look after themselves. Jesus said that we should seek first his kingdom, then, everything else would be provided out of his grace.