Title: There is no present forever in life.
“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow;
There is one thing that people mistake very much for a hundred. Life is about not dwelling on the past, not worrying about the future, and doing your best in the present and living faithfully. That's so sensible. But the truth is, strictly speaking, there is no present for humans. Human beings can only live in either the past or the future. You can't do your best right now.
The reason is that humans are always living in the momentary past. It is said that the moment a human recognizes anything through his own designation, it is already a past event. As a simple example, the moment you read this article, the content of this article is already stored in your head, and the fact that you read the article itself has become a thing of the past.
Time never stops even for a second. It comes to us every moment and leaves us right away. They pass by us with no regard for our circumstances. Whether you are conscious of such a stark fact or not, whether you are doing something intentionally or not, even if you are not thinking or sleeping, time passes. After all, life is something you cannot hold onto even the present life that is clearly visible in front of your eyes.
Ultimately, everyone is living with the future nibbling at each other. There is no life in the present, the past exists only in memory, and all of it is the future. As long as you breathe for a moment, you grow old and the distance to the grave decreases. How to live in this future well, in other words, to manage the time that keeps pouring out without taking care of even a single second is what life is all about.
So how foolish is it to dwell on the past? We pass our time so carelessly that it doesn't feel real. But think of time as a ball coming out of a tennis or baseball practice machine in a row, and that trainer throws the ball back and forth over and over without a break. Still, can't we just keep feeling sorry for the number of balls hit and missed? Of course, you can sometimes take a break in the middle, but you have to keep hitting the ball. Past branches must be sent behind one's back unconditionally. As Paul confessed, “the only thing we have to do is to forget the things that are behind and to grasp the things that are ahead” (Philippians 3:13).
If life has no choice but to live in the future, it means that worries and concerns about the yet undetermined future inevitably follow everyone. Yet, Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow. It is said that one day of suffering is enough for one day. How can you avoid worrying about tomorrow in a future-only life?
When you think only in terms of time, there is no present in life, only the past and the future. But, not knowing about other creatures, only humans have to put things together at that time. Even if the past has already ended, if its aftermath and effect remain to this day, it is still the present. When we renew the joy of being saved by the grace of the cross every morning, it is the present. Also, for those who have already been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, their salvation is not forever canceled, so that salvation is eternally valid in the present tense. Of course, being tied to the wounds and sorrows of the past is still an ordeal in the present tense.
Conversely, in terms of time, even future events become present. The monthly apartment rental fee that must be paid is now. You have to work hard in advance and have the money set aside. Likewise, for the believer, eternal life is now, because it is already secured. If you have God as your King and are fully immersed in His holy reign, you will enjoy the kingdom of heaven in the present tense from this earth.
Therefore, only for humans, the criterion for dividing the past, present, and future is not time, but work. In particular, it divides by whether it is human-controllable. Just like paying rent for an apartment, the present is an area where you can come up with measures and implement them on your own. The past cannot be overturned or changed by one's own power. Also, no matter how humans plan and prepare, the future is beyond the limits of one's control, not knowing how things will unfold.
Jesus said, “Who can add one cubit to his stature by being anxious? Growing in height is clearly a thing of the present, but it is the future because you cannot control it on your own. Everyone wants to grow taller, so they eat hard and exercise properly. Such efforts are certainly present, but the outcome is unknown and out of control. So it's tomorrow, and of course you shouldn't worry about it, no need to do it.
Still, most of human concerns are about things beyond our control. Isn't that so stupid? Even believers do. A believer is one who is convinced that God is in control of everything, but why do we keep worrying about it? They are not confident in the fact that this is God's plan. Because he plans to accomplish it in his own way, he becomes anxious about what to do if God does not control him.
Then the way has been revealed that radically eliminates worry about tomorrow. You just have to do God's work in God's way. It doesn't mean you have to do something moral or religious. All you need to do is to pray and follow the guidance God has given you. In reality, even if you do what you want to do, you must have the conviction that God has planted that hope. At the very least, you must have the certainty that God will definitely be pleased with what you do. How could God not lead you to do such things? Is there any other way that God can fail to lead?
No matter how difficult the past work is, if it is God's work, you can easily forget it and give thanks. Couldn't God even change the outcome of that work for the better? So is the future. If we are completely caught up in God's field, God will surely accomplish things that have not yet come to pass.
Life has no present in time, only the future. It's just one step at a time towards the destination you're allowed to go to. So, you can only distinguish the time from what you are currently doing. In other words, the value of your life is divided according to the meaning you give to the non-stop time.
A person who is obsessed with one's work, no matter how hard he tries, or even prays a lot, is tied up in the present. In hindsight, since there is no present in time, he is obsessed with the past. It means that if you live your life, you are nothing but time-consuming starfish. On the other hand, only those who can entrust all that time to God because they are convinced that life is only the future can give it true value and meaning.
In a nutshell, everyone dreams of the future in terms of time, but there are only those who dream of God's work and those who dream of their own. This is the distinction between unbelievers and believers. And the end point of that cruel passing of time is eternal death for the former, but eternal life for the latter.
A believer is one who dreams of God's work and is carrying out it. Those who already possess eternal life and are walking toward heaven in the present progressive tense. But why do you keep worrying? No matter how it happened, how it is happening, or how it will happen in the future, are you not sure that it is God's work toward eternal life?
7/1/2006