Central Abbotsford

A little over a week from now, I will be traveling to Colorado along with a handful of other Northview pastors and elders to attend the annual conference of the Evangelical Theological Society, which is an event where hundreds of Chrisitan intellectuals, theologians, philosophers, and other academics gather to share their insights, give previews of upcoming papers and books, and generally have a good time. For some reason, I have been appointed partially responsible to coordinate travel arrangements for the team (for the record, I share this responsibility with the much more responsible pastor Kristal Toews). And, in this role, I realized something interesting that I had overlooked until just the other day.

Our flight departs from Seattle and arrives in Denver. With the recent abolition of the time change in BC in service of remaining on permanent Daylight Time, Denver is now in the same time zone as Abbotsford, but Washington state is not. This means that, on our travel day, our team will drive 10 minutes to cross the border and go back an hour in time, only to then fly over 1000 miles to end up back in our home time zone. 

It seems a bit backwards! We are out of sync with what is right in front of us, yet we are walking in time with a distant land. Bizarre.

Yet, in a strange way, it is a picture of our walk as followers of Christ. Paul tells us in Philippians 3 that here on earth, on the ground right in front of us, Christians will seem like they are walking out of step with those around them. In verses 18-19, he writes “For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” Their priorities are different. Their fates are different. Their clocks are set to a different time.

Then consider what Paul writes next: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21)

In Matthew 5:16, after giving the Beatitudes and before proclaiming the balance of the Sermon on the Mount wherein He gives His hearers the full picture of the ethic of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus transitions from the former to the latter by saying “…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” In other words, live your life in such a way that others want to set their clocks to the time displayed on yours. 

Though there is currently a great chasm between where we stand, and where our eternal hope rests, we are called to live on heaven’s time, and on heaven’s terms. This will be disorienting, and there will be occasions where we forget the differences that exist (as I did when initially planning the upcoming trip). But, of course, we are not alone in this. As Jesus nears the end of the Sermon on the Mount, he reminds us in Matthew 7:7-11 that when we are lacking, all we must do is call upon our heavenly Father who gives all good gifts – including the gifts of faith and grace that fuel our obedience to the heavenly ethic.

In all things, therefore, seek the King and His kingdom. Seek to do His will. Seek His aid in doing so. Call upon His Spirit to lead and guide you in all your steps, and may you persevere in living life on heaven’s time.