JETLAG FAITH

What Jesus calls us to do by faith sort of feels like experiencing jetlag. Jetlag occurs when you travel by plane to a time zone far away from your own and your experience of what time it is no longer matches what your mind and body expect it to be.

Now

Similarly, Jesus tells us to live in the “now” but live as if it were the future. Like jetlag, this can be disorienting. When Jesus says, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10), He is making one of these many “bring the future forward to today” statements. B4Ters have a unique opportunity to not just behave on earth as they would in heaven, but to actually be the hands and feet of God the Father as He brings His Kingdom down to earth from Heaven.

Have you ever moved to a different house after living in the same place for many years? When I was a kid, we made a move after years in the same place, and it took days of hauling things to the new house and returning to the old house to pick up another load. The longer you are in a place, the more stuff will accumulate that you have to either get rid of or move with you.

Ever since Jesus began the Kingdom inauguration on earth, the Trinity began making such a move down here. Revelation tells us that God will dwell among us, and He will do so on the earth (Exodus 29:46, Ezekiel 37:27, Zechariah 2:10-11, Revelation 21:3 and the rest of the chapter, etc.). Heaven comes down here for Eternity.

Not Yet

Our task, then, by bringing the Good News to all peoples, is to bring forward Eternity to now. We are told to act as though the Kingdom were fully consummated here even though it isn’t yet. That is why we have so many dizzying “already but not yet” commands and promises throughout the Scriptures. We are operating in multiple “time” zones at the same time.

Yet, take heart, for as a B4Ter you are actually partaking in bringing about the Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven by transforming your little domain into a place that aligns with the way our Heavenly Father wants business to be done.

Greg is the President of OPEN USA. He used his education to work as a tentmaker in the Middle East for 8.5 years seeking to plant a church amongst a least-reached people group. Currently back in the USA with his wife and children, they aim to return to finish what the LORD used them to start.

To learn more about B4T, read Business for Transformation by Patrick Lai.