The life of Jesus in the past profoundly affects our view of our future and we live our present in light of that future.
We are living in the middle of our salvation.
In the present Christians mourn the evil of the world (blessed are those who mourn) and we seek to bring the Kingdom more fully here in love and meekness (blessed are the meek and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness).
We live in light of that future. The Kingdom will be fully realized here in that future. Our citizenship is in Heaven (Philippians 3.17-21).
Jesus will return and finish the task of salvation. There is no such thing as the "end times" set in the future. Biblically, we have been living in the end times since the resurrection of Christ.
Jesus is ruling and reigning today. We are called to advance the Kingdom, not look for blessings in this life. Middle-class success is not the goal of the Christian life. Obedience is more than being "good" and not breaking the rules.
If you live into this future, then you will encounter resistance - internal, external, and spiritual. If we live into the age to come, then we will encounter resistance from the age that is.
Living into this future purifies us and takes the superfluous out of our lives.
Christian life is living a life of trust. We are called away from certainty and into trust and that’s painful.
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