Written by Pastor Carlyn Cole
Stepping aside as Associate Pastor at Hope Community Church is an opportunity for me to explore other interests and to determine what God might be wanting me to consider. As with any change, a myriad of emotions might rise to the surface. I was reminded of what our posture toward the future ought to be in my reading through the book of Hebrews.
“For we do not have an enduring city here; instead, we seek the one to come” – Hebrews 13:14
How we feel about change in our lives depends on whether we think that the change is going to be an improvement. If we have come to enjoy the status quo or feel like there really isn’t a need for improvement, we consider change with melancholy or perhaps even anger. If on the other hand we see change as something that will make our life in some way substantially better, we embrace the change with open arms. Now the actual effect of the change is sometimes hard to tell. How many times have we been pained over the thought of an upcoming change only to find out that it wasn’t as bad as we had anticipated, perhaps we have even come to embrace it? Of course, the opposite can also happen.
One thing that the writer of Hebrews brings to our attention is that there is going to be, in fact we must look forward to, change as it relates to our experience in life. What we have now is not something that is ultimately going to endure. There will be change. However, for those of us who are fixing our eyes on Jesus, we can be a people who are looking forward to the change to come. In fact, we are to seek it out, look forward to it, put our efforts into that which is to come more so than anything that we see and experience here and now.
Ok, but what does it mean for us to seek the city which is to come? I am sure that if we put our heads together, we could come up with several ways we might seek the city which is to come, but let me offer three:
- Rejoice in the Lord today. Our God has told us to ‘not worry about anything’. Anytime we become aware of our anxiety levels raising we are being called to bring our attention back to the God who is bigger than any circumstance we might be facing. Our ability to rejoice in our Great God in the moment forces us to recognize that His grace is sufficient for the day. A little time spent rejoicing in God today can offset the anxiety that change might be seeking to upset.
- Consider your true calling And what is your true calling? Simply stated it is to know Him and to make Him known. When you and I live into our true calling we can let change happen knowing that there will always be a need to exercise that calling no matter the circumstances of the day. Seeking the city to come means to engage in the activity now that will make a difference then.
- Maintain perspective Throughout life there is a call to lift our gaze Godward. Is this life all that there is? A thousand times no. When we recognize that there is no enduring city for us to hold onto, we can let it go. It is this counter cultural message that will need to be heeded lest we succumb to the message of the day. That day, that city, that future will be ours. Let us never lose track of what is really and ultimately true.
No ‘city’, past or present, will ever endure. Only that future city will endure, the one where Christ is King. Let us together seek that city!