Thought for Today
Exodus 13:14 When in the future your child asks you, 'What does this mean?' you shall answer, 'By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
Psalm 22:30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord,
1 Corinthians 3:21 So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future-- all belong to you,
1 Timothy 6:18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, 19 thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.
The theme in These Days this week has been “Remembering the Future.” Each day, as I read that theme, I was reminded of a book. “Future Shock is a 1970 book by American futurist Alvin Toffler, written together with his wife Adelaide Farrell, in which the authors define the term ‘future shock’ as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies, and a personal perception of "too much change in too short a period of time". (en.wikipedia.org)
Irrespective of whether or not you read the book, you have experienced some of the impact of that book. “Alvin Toffler argued that society is undergoing an enormous structural change, a revolution from an industrial society to a ‘super-industrial society’. This change, he states, overwhelms people. He argues that the accelerated rate of technological and social change leaves people disconnected and suffering from "shattering stress and disorientation"—future shocked. Toffler stated that the majority of social problems are symptoms of future shock. In his discussion of the components of such shock, he popularized the term ‘information overload.’" (en.wikipedia.org)
That book and the resulting media obsession with the book seemed to me to spawn a whole new profession, ‘Futurist.’ “Futurists are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities about the future and how they can emerge from the present, whether that of human society in particular or of life on Earth in general.” (en.wikipedia.org)
As I ponder all of this, I am reminded of one of Jesus’ favorite teaching methods. Jesus told a lot of parables. You may remember a definition from your childhood, “a parable is an earthy story with heavenly meanings.” However you define them, parables are relatively short, common illustrations of Jesus’ message of loving God and loving each other, of the gospel truth of God’s love for Creation and all its creatures. Since most of Jesus’ audience were fishermen or subsistence farmers, a lot of those parables dealt with fishing, seed planting, harvesting and so on.
As I have grown, and especially as I have been called to ministry, I have found multiple levels or layers of meaning in those parables. But, I don’t find much in them about worrying about the future. I don’t find any futurists in those parables. I don’t find any of God’s creatures overwhelmed by information overload or in a state of future shock.
What I do find are simple stories grounded in the present and in the simple, everyday lives of those involved. Are there lessons there which reach out to the future? Of course. Everything which will occur in the future arises from the present. And, the present arose from the past.
I sometimes make reference to our ‘ancestors-in-the-faith. Christians today are who we are because of the lives of all of those who faithfully walked the Way before us. We are who we are because they were who they were. The lessons of the parables, the truths of the Bible are not time-dependent in their applicability. The gospel message, the words of love are applicable throughout time. From Genesis 1:1 until the end of time, our Creator God has been and will be the “I AM” who spoke to Moses in the burning bush, who sent Moses to free God’s Chosen People; and, especially for Christians, the God who sent God’s Son to ensure our eternal life through our faith in Jesus.
That truth is the future Christians are always called to remember. The truth of John 3:16-17. The truth of Luke 10:27. The truth of hymns like Jesus Loves Me and I Know Who Holds Tomorrow. God loves us. God walks beside us. God is our sure and certain refuge against information overload and future shock. Honor the past; live in the present, embrace the future.
Stay safe, take refuge in God, trust God,
Pastor Ray