Living Then and There, Here and Now

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus . . . ” -- Ephesians 2:4-6

In one episode from the life of Brigid, the sixth-century Irish saint, her biographer, Cogitosus, relates how she rode in her chariot on a mission of mercy. He reports that, as she traveled to her destination, Brigid was deep in meditation, fixing her thoughts on the unseen world, gathering strength and perspective for the task ahead. Cogitosus describes her as “practicing the life of heaven on earth,” through the disciplines of prayer and meditation. She appears to have been fortifying herself to live the “then and there” of eternal glory in the “here and now” of her daily demands.

An interesting idea, this “practicing the life of heaven on earth.”

Paul had something like this in mind when he reminded the Ephesians of the fact that, as a consequence of saving grace, they had been seated with Christ in the heavenly places. He was trying to give them a vantage-point from which to take up the challenges facing them, a vision for joyful obedience in their lives in Christ.

A GLIMPSE OF GLORY
In some mysterious sense we who believe in Christ for salvation have been lifted out of this present mundane existence into a realm of unspeakable beauty, splendor, and power. We have been seated with Christ at the right hand of God, where we may gather a glimpse of the glory that is and that is to be. It is a mystery, to be sure, but it is true, and Paul invites us to contemplate its significance for our present experience.

The right hand of God: Here is the locus of all power and authority in heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18). Here is the command center whence proceeds Christ’s victorious campaign against all His foes (Psalm 110). Here is a place of wondrous beauty, a glorious gathering-place for departed saints and angelic hosts (Psalm 45; Revelation 4,5). Christ is even now seated in His glorified body on this throne of majesty and might, directing His Spirit, according to the promises of His Word, for the advance of His Kingdom, the vanquishing of His foes, and the gathering and perfecting of His elect.

And we are seated there with Him.

This is not mere metaphor. The Scripture takes pains to describe the scene in Christ’s court and to guide us in seeing the outworking of historical events from this vantage-point. We are present as the commands go forth. We know something of the course events will take. We see the Spirit working to build the Church and convict the world. We participate in fulfilling Christ’s agenda as we act in faith and obedience accordingly. All this we see with the eye of faith, but this does not mean it is not real, or merely something that is one day to be. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places right now, and on our ability to enter into that reality rests a large part of our experience of the riches of our salvation. The more careful and diligent we are -- through prayer and meditation -- to nurture this vision of heaven, the stronger will be our faith and the more consistent will be our obedience. We, too, will gain a greater glimpse of glory, and will know the mystery, wonder, and power of practicing the life of heaven on earth.

FOR THE EXHIBITION OF HIS KINDNESS
Paul tells us that the reason God has exalted us to this heavenly place, and given us this glimpse of glory, is “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7).

There seems to be a correlation between our occupying that seat of glory and experiencing the riches of His kindness. God has seated us with Christ so that He might show the immeasurable riches of His kindness to us. The here and now of our lives is enriched by the then and there of our faith as we practice the life of heaven on earth, focusing on our enthronement with Christ for the perspective and strength it gives us for daily living. This must be something of what the writer of Hebrews had in mind when he described faith as the “practice of unseen things” (Hebrews 11:1). The more we participate in the unseen realities of our lives -- things we will know by sight only in the age to come -- the more we may expect to experience the kindness of God and to practice these unseen realities in daily life. Thus, whatever our trials and tribulations, challenges and chores, we may know the kindness of God in the midst through the perspective we gain, seated with Christ at the Father’s right hand.

The power for living the biblical worldview in the present flows to us from the eternal throne of Christ. Only as we learn to access that power can we expect to know the riches of God’s kindness for full and abundant life.

And for this we need to learn how to penetrate the veil that separates our mundane existence from our heavenly one. This is where such disciplines as prayer, meditation, and singing help to lift us above the fray of daily life into the glory of life to come. Through the more determined and faithful use of these disciplines we, like Brigid, may find the perspective and strength, through the riches of God’s kindness, to live fully for Him in the present.

But begin to incorporate more of prayer, meditation, and singing into our daily routines, and we grow to see our lives from a truer vantage-point, and receive riches in kindness to sustain us with power and joy through all the vicissitudes and trials of daily life.

We can only speculate as to how those ancient Ephesians tried to apply Paul’s teaching to the challenges facing them. But when we read of great saints like Brigid who routinely gained perspective, power, and peace from “practicing the life of heaven on earth,” it should challenge us to seek more of that glorious then and there for our daily lives here and now. As we are preparing for our day, or for the next appointment or task; as we move from one place to the next; even as we carry out our responsibilities and fulfill our roles, are we striving to penetrate the veil and see through to the throne-room of Christ? Are we laboring to gain His perspective on our lives, and to draw on the riches of His kindness to sustain and cheer us, come what may? Or are we so focused on problems, duties, doubts, and fears that our well-being is ruled by temporal circumstances and trivial things rather than unchanging, eternal verities?

Only spiritual disciplines can take you into the riches and power of spiritual truths. If you have no time for such things as prayer, meditation, and singing, or if you make only minimal use of them, or refuse to resort to them more and more throughout the day, you will have only your temporal resources of heart, mind, and strength to see you through the challenges before you. God has richer, fuller, benefits in mind for you. But you must seek them in the place where He has lodged them and by the means He has determined. Then you will know the riches of His kindness flowing into and through every aspect of your life. Then you will truly be living the then and there, here and now, practicing the life of heaven on earth.

FOR REFLECTION
How clear is your vision of the throne-room of Christ? What impact does that vision have on your daily life? How much time do you spend thinking about and meditating on that vision? This week’s psalm might help (write me at nacurragh@aol.com for your copy).

T. M. Moore is a Fellow of the Wilberforce Forum. He serves as Pastor of Teaching Ministries and Director of the Center for Christian Studies at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tenn. T. M. is the editor of the series, Jonathan Edwards for Today’s Reader(P & R), the latest volume of which is Pursuing Holiness in the Lord. His latest books are Consider the Lilies: A Plea for Creational Theology (P & R) and God’s Prayer Program: Passionately Using the Psalms in Prayer (Christian Focus). He and his wife and editor, Susie, make their home in Concord, TN. He can be reached at nacurragh@aol.com. All Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version (Crossway).