Week 18- The Now and Not Yet

One of the great tensions we face as believers is the ‘Now and the Not Yet’ of God’s Kingdom.

Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are adopted, redeemed, saved, and sanctified. This is good news! But Jesus was not unaware of the reality of living out our faith in the here and now. He tells us that just as he experienced, since we are not of this world, the world will not understand or love us. But he invites us to remain in him, the True Vine. When we remain in him and trust the Spirit to do work in us, we will produce fruit that glorifies God and points towards the coming of the not yet.

In the now, we face affliction, just as Jesus did when he was on earth. But in the not yet, we will see the fullness of God, we will see all things made new, and we will experience the full measure of what it means to be in Christ. In the now, the Lord is with us but we can only see in part.In the not yet, the completeness of his word and promises will be revealed, and how beautiful it will be.

The invitation this week is to simply remain, to trust the work of the Spirit in us, and to not lose hope but to fix our eyes on the eternal glory of the not yet."

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