“Considering the Bible’s general theological understanding of history, we certainly find in it a linear chronological conception, from the creation account to the covenants of Noah and Moses, to David and the prophets, to Jesus, the era of the Church and finally the eschatology of the end time.
For man…must go through the experience of evil in order to gain enough maturity to lead, eventually, a life “in the flesh” in imitation of Christ and to reach perfection through Eucharist and resurrection. We should note that in this linear conception the reality of sin can be seen as educational means.”
-Hans Urs Von Balthasar “Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved”
“All words are inherently double-voiced or double-valued: he calls this multi-accentuality.”
-A concept of Mikhail Bakhtin
Eschatology is a big word for most people. Plagued by religious language that would hinder us just enough to miss the landmark of this journal entry, it benefits us all to change our language a bit and say: think linear.
To think linear is to live our lives in such a way that we realize, in the core of our being, in life everlasting: a continuing chronology (even that word is hindered by our finite language). In a sense, there is more than meets the eye in our daily decisions and daily interactions. There is a ‘double-value’ or ‘double-voice’ to life for those who follow Jesus. If we, as humans, are the meeting place of heaven and earth, then maybe our lives produce results in both simultaneously as well. Larger than cause and effect, we now – through the power of God’s spirit – have endless opportunity to initiate and/or reflect a portion of eternity in time and beyond.
Most of Western civilization has bought into a cyclical approach to life. Honestly, we probably tend to live our lives more from a belief in reincarnation than that of the reality of resurrection. We would never say it, but our lives speak louder than our rites, slogans and symbols. Simply put, reincarnation relies on recycling things we know and banks on our memory rather than requiring our trust. Resurrection requires trust, because it is a continual act of creativity, everlasting creativity.
As followers of Jesus, our destiny is as co-laborers in the reality of everlasting creativity now and not yet. As N.T. Wright has said, we are not necessarily ‘building the Kingdom of God’ but ‘building for the Kingdom of God’. Every word, every action, it all - through the power of the Holy Spirit – gives momentum toward the fruition of God’s reality on earth as it is in heaven.
History (and even Humanity) may repeat itself, but we must be careful when projecting this on God. Our Heavenly Father emerges throughout history with works of everlasting creativity: unconditional, relational, restorative, redemptive acts of original goodness.
Raise your worldview up over the clouds of post-Enlightenment and post-modernism to see that time is much more than what we know or envisage. Jesus is the way, the truth, the life. His resurrection was, is and will forever be the hope of humanity. Grounding ourselves in the foundation of an eschatological worldview initiated by and through Jesus’ resurrection allows to see a continuous and continuing chronology – we can begin live everlasting life in the present and think linear.
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