Looking towards the future

Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come (Matthew 24:42).

When I was young, bookstores had loads of science fiction paperbacks for sale. I love science fiction; in high school I could finish two sci-fi novels every week and not fall behind on my schoolwork. But these days, the shelves devoted to science fiction are mostly given over to fantasy; finding a good selection of my favorite type of fiction is getting hard.

I think the problem is that our world is changing so fast these days. Science fiction used to be a way for us to think about where our world is headed, what kind of future might result from the foundations we are laying today. But it is becoming increasingly hard to imagine what the world could be like even ten years from now, let alone in a hundred or beyond. I wonder if science fiction has become hard to write because unimaginable advances are being made in the fields of science and technology every year.

I don’t think that people spend much time thinking about the future anymore. When the future looks uncertain, people tend to keep their focus on the present. These days, fewer people are doing serious planning for retirement. Increasingly, people are getting married without considering what life-long partnership will truly involve. Most Americans are focused on now or tomorrow or maybe next year—but not much beyond that.

This is a problem. Bad eating habits will eventually result in health problems. Short-term investment strategies miss out on the kinds of gains that can only be realized by taking the long view. Living for the moment only results in superficial relationships and a constantly empty wallet.

But the biggest danger of ignoring the future is that people don’t think about their death or what will follow; for far too many, heaven and hell are abstract ideas that have no relevance for what’s happening in their lives today. But death could be only minutes away—today might be the last time you read my words. If Jesus summons you to stand before Him today, are you ready to face Him? Are you confident of His welcome into heaven because you and He are friends, or does hell threaten you because you and the Lord are strangers? If death knocks on your door today, are you prepared for it?