But according to his (God’s) promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness is at home. (2 Peter 3:13)
Christians, as people truly informed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, would therefore trust that by his birth, death and resurrection he took upon himself the guilt of their sins, which for Christ’s sake, God has therefore washed away. Accordingly, if only they live according to that good faith in Christ, they too are resurrected, in the person of Jesus Christ, from death in sin to new life with God forever. Engrafted as branches upon Christ’s tree, the blood of Christ which is the life thereof flows in and through them restoring God’s intention for the creation of humanity.
Thus, receiving the life of Christ into themselves, every Christian has reason to exclaim with Mary the mother of Christ and God: “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Why is it then that so many who profess to be followers of Christ in the world today, frequently feel depressed and afflicted with sorrow? Is it simply because we all fall short of the glory of God, and are therefore, in every moment, burdened by the weight of our sins? Is it because, in our times, we have so much reason to mourn the suffering and death of fellow believers, oppressed as martyrs because they will not cease to testify truthfully, everywhere, always and to all creation, bearing witness to the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ?
These are good reasons for sadness. Yet the very substance of truth that makes such sadness reasonable, ought also to engender in people of good faith, peace, happiness and confident joy, in the remembrance of Christ. For by the grace of God, the life of Christ on earth is resurrected in all who believe. They are, therefore, drawn into the Spirit of that communion with and in the being of God, by whose outpouring their belief is fulfilled and uplifted, even to overflowing.
Yet though, on this account, the spirit of belief is willing, yet, in the flesh, believers are still presently constrained by “surly bonds” of earth, despite their spiritual yearning to extend themselves beyond its limitations. They are like someone whose heart is so filled with love that it longs to return to the place of true belonging, the place where the boundless love they have become may be extended, as it is deeply meant to be extended, everywhere and always, to everything within the purview of God’s creation.
For such is the love of God for His Creation; the love that, by and through the heart of Jesus Christ, each and every Christian is moved to feel and to fulfill. Yet, however well expressed in this, our limited way of being, it can never, in this life, be worthily expressed, as befits the being of God. For His being is what, as creatures in His image, we can only strive to be. So, we must long, without fulfillment, yearning for the place where we belong, but being now in a place where it must ever be, in the remembrance of Christ, a memory of a future past, true now and then, but nonetheless still to come.
There is a kind of restful sadness in this longing, like the dreams of home when it is far away. Though it pains us to be longing for its comforts, yet it’s comforting to remember we belong. This is the blessed assurance of our destiny, in the love of God for which we live, by which we come to be. For as long as it is forecast for our future, we at least know that where we are, is on the way. We cannot but rejoice that Christ is here to be our memory. But neither can we help feeling sadness, because for now, we must remember it this way. That sorrow is the price we pay for living in remembrance of life lived in another, better home, not yet fully returned to us.
That is the home of our dreams. This seems just the place where we must stay. But doesn’t our longing for that vision of the future strengthen the discipline required to take the steps that takes us there? That discipline is our discipleship with Christ. His wisdom directs us in the right way. But, more than that, he is our brother, come to find us. His comforting ways serve to remind us that, wherever our true longing dwells our true home finds us. For Christ’s coming helps us to know, in truth, that it was, and is always right here. This is a blessing which God’s word foretells. For it tells us that in God’s kingdom come, righteousness is at home. But in our heart’s righteousness, it was ever thus. So, says our Lord: Luke 17:21.
Alan Keyes is a political activist, a prolific writer and a former diplomat.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.