“Meet the Futurists.” Perhaps it is a rather obscure online CNN article. But I found its topic interesting when I chanced upon it. It’s about a group of people, or maybe a “kind of social movement,” described as those who “live in the future.”
Here’s a basic explanation: “Futurists say they look at life with a perspective that they consider to be 5 to 10 years ahead of the rest of us. Obviously, they’re fascinated with the cutting edges of technology. But many of them are fascinated by the idea of bridging technology and the human body.” Examples of “bridging technology and the human body” include the use of virtual reality and avatars in the field of psychology to treat depression, where the patient gets to observe himself or herself with the guidance of the therapist. And there is the technology that allows one to control gadgets, such as a small flying drone, with one’s mind.
All this brings to my mind the idea that Christian living is actually futurist in nature. We also “live in the future” but our perspective goes way beyond 5 to 10 years ahead. We instead reach into eternity. And it has to do much more than simply applying human cutting-edge technology. What is applied is not of this world at all.
First, it must be clarified that “the point of Christianity isn’t ‘to go to heaven when you die’” (N.T. Wright). Rather, it’s about heaven (the “future”) coming down to touch human life in a way that God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. That is already taking place in Christ, among followers of Christ—perhaps not perfectly, but already happening.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ ushered in the new age and makes the experience of God’s future in the present possible. Again, not in its fullness but nevertheless real. Paul declares: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5.17 NIV). The true believer who submits to the transforming work of the Spirit is empowered to know what it is like to “live in the future.” This is because the power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that is made available for all believers. This is reflected in Paul’s prayer for believers: “that you may know … his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead” (Ephesians 1:18–20 NIV).
Here’s a call to live in the future at the present time.
—Keith Y. Jainga