by J. Randal Matheny

A friend in the U.S. wrote last week and mentioned how people are worried, with the high terrorist alert. And in his city, crime is up.

It's another variation on the theme, what does the future hold? Looking at it from "under the sun," nobody knows anything, the main thing is to stay alive, it's all in God's hands, and you can't even be sure of him (Eccl. 9:1-6).

Put God back in the picture, though, and the whole scene brightens. The righteous one says, with full trust, "My future is in your hands" (Ps. 31:15, NLT). Why is that?

1. The future is certain.

We worry with how and when we will die, with jobs and marriages or the lack of them. These are mere details. We know what is important to know, that is, no future threat can overcome the saving power of Christ (Eph. 1:20-21), and no future force can separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8:37-39).

If I am guaranteed his power on the one hand and his love on the other, I am set for life. And beyond.

2. The future is yours.

Paul wrote to Corinthian Christians who were divying up a spiritual pie, when all of them could have all of it. "For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or THE FUTURE -- all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's" (1 Cor. 3:21b-23, ESV).

What does it mean for the future to be ours? Paul's terms of the world, life, death, things present or things to come "are all the great powers that govern the life of man and before which he feels his smallness and dependence."/1 Gordon Fee called them the "tyrannies of existence," but for the Christian they become "gifts of God to assist and to enrich them, they constitute positive forces for good ..."/2

3. The future is close.

What does the near future hold? First, the end of all things is at hand or "nears" (1 Pet. 4:7). Some who want to push back the end say this doesn't mean the end of the world, but Peter puts "all things" (Greek, "panton") up front, in an emphatic position. There is nothing in the text to indicate that "all things" does not mean, literally, all things.

If we take "all things" as the final end of the world, was Peter then wrong when he wrote, as some allege? No, for as long as the world may stand, there is nothing in God's plan of redemption that must occur before the coming of Christ. The way is clear for his return.

Second, the nearing future means the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (Jas. 5:7-9). The same word in 1 Peter 4:7 is used in James 5:8 to speak of the end: "the coming of the Lord is at hand." For his coming, James says, Christians must be patient. They want the end to come NOW! For it means salvation and vindication of all who believe. In the growing light of the glory's arrival, they work for the spiritual harvest (v. 7).

Third, the nearing future means the judgment of all men. The angel tells John, "the time is near" (Rev. 22:10). Jesus himself says, "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done" (Rev. 22:12). His judgment will separate each one from what he is doing now (v. 11) to the place that has been prepared for him (v. 13).

Conclusion

Some look to the new year and the future with dread and fear. The Christian, however, sees it as providing opportunity to serve the Lord, preach the Good News, and bring him one step closer to eternity's gate. Because he belongs to Christ, and Christ to God, who holds the future in his hands.

1/ F. W. Grosheide, Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, NIC, p. 95. 2/ A. C. Thistelton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, NIGTC (Eerdmans, 2000), p. 326-327.