Eventual Renovation
“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:17.
We who have a more melancholy disposition have a hunger for heaven-
– tending to see this world as filled with dangers and threats and sorrow.
The opposite of those cheery optimists who reckon all is well and let’s squeeze what we can out of life because this life is all there is.
As usual, the truth lies between the extremes.
Our text reminds us that life is to be lived as representatives or ambassadors for Jesus.
This fact alone transforms how we live.
It means we truly live rather than merely exist.
There is much good in the world and much in which to delight.
There is much evil and pain in the world and much from which we shrink.
But in either case-
– we live as those loved and accepted by God through Jesus.
Being a Christian is not just about getting to heaven when we die.
It is about embodying and expanding the values of heaven here and now.
It is not just about life after death.
It is about life before death.
We are not merely passing through this world like travellers on a plane or train.
We are immersed in it as it is even as we anticipate its eventual renovation!
Jesus transforms our existence into real life.
And so our fear is not that our life may one day end but that it may never even begin.
(PR)