The Future in God's Hands
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Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: Final Phase
The Future in God's Hands
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.
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