About the Future

11.25.2010

Matthew 20:18-19 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” ESV

Sometimes in our efforts to control our destinies we want to know the future – what’s gonna happen to me? – as if we could do anything about it. The problem for us is we are powerless to do anything about the future and foreknowledge only confuses the issue.

When Jesus told His men about the future it didn’t make things easy on them. The Zebedee boy’s mother went into immediate action: “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” (Matthew 20:21) She wanted to make sure that when it all went south her boys were well taken care of…

There is another way to accept news about the future: in faith – by faith; trusting God is in control of not only the future but our destinies as well. This was a totally new concept for these disciples because their religion assured them of only part of the story. Now was the time for them to believe and accept the rest of the story only by trusting God who shared with them other than what they thought was going to happen…

A danger of knowing the future is attempting to live in the future, forgetting about now. Jesus let them in on the right kind of future news – news that was good and beneficial to them as they lived out their present. It was future news with hope and expectation.

Father in Heaven,
Today, I am thankful to You not only for my past, but also my future – orchestrated by Your love and held firmly in Your hand. I am thankful to You for the gift of faith and for Your promises of tomorrow, which in Jesus Christ are always, yes, and amen. Amen!