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Romans 8:22-23

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.  And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

It’s the fourth quarter. There are two minutes left to play. Your team is ahead 65-7. Have you won the game? Yes…and no. In one sense, you have already won. There is no way the opposing team can score 59 points in two minutes. But technically, the game is not over until the last seconds tick off the clock.

In the spiritual life, there is this concept called “Already…not yet.” As children of God, we are “already” in. Our sin has been imputed to Christ, and he paid the penalty finally and fully on the cross. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We are free from sin’s rule in our lives. The sinful nature, while still present, has no domination over us. And best of all, we are who we are because of the work of God. From the beginning to the end, my salvation does not depend on me—it is a gift of God.  We are in…but “not yet.”

While our sinful nature does not rule us, it still rears its ugly head, knocks us off balance, and sometimes knocks us to the ground. We still live in a sinful world full of sickness, disease, tragedy, disaster, and death. Our bodies, corrupted by our sinful nature, are aging and dying. We are surrounded by temporal things that cause us to long for something real, eternal, and complete. C. S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” Christians are made for another world, and it’s already ours…but not yet.

Father, in the midst of this temporal existence, keep us longing for the world we are made for. In Christ’s name. Amen.

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