SOMEDAY IS HERE

There are two places I can never be, the past, and the future.  Yet, these two places rule our lives.  As I'm typing this, the NOW is unfolding with each keystroke, even as I attempt to frame the future of my words.  My written sentences, are nothing more than my fingers trying to keep up with the future my brain is speaking.  Somewhere in between the minute measurable moments, is the immeasurable NOW.  Living in the moment is what God intended for us at creation.  I know a lot of people point to the fairy tale idea of the Garden of Eden as being a time of naive existence without fear of death. Nothing is further from the truth.  Our first recorded human conversation proves that there was already knowledge of death.  Satan asks the woman; Did God say you could eat of every tree in the garden?
The woman replies; No, we can't eat of the one I'm looking at right now. If I do, I will die.  (David's paraphrase)  Satan didn't inform her of death (the future) and she understood what God had said, (the past).  The past is remembered for a purpose, to inform the now, and to shape the future.  Without the past, (our memories) we can't safely negotiate the now.  Someday (the future) beckons us forward, while at the same time, the past shapes our path to someday.  Because our days are numbered and our opportunities to affect change are limited by time, we often spend that time trying to live in the two places we can't be. 
Why am I saying all of this?   Because of the conflict I wrote about in my last blog.  As I go through this process, I'm trying to discover how to live in the now.  The situation I'm in was not of my creation.  I simply stepped into the echoes of the past.  That past, not of my own creation, holds the power to affect my future in a powerful way.  God placed that past in my hands, and inexorably the lives and loves of a great deal of people. That past threatens the future of many of those I love.  Finding the key to binding up the power of the past has been my struggle over the past few months.  Every day I ask God to help the people affected by this situation to find peace and enjoy love.  I stand outside the situation, but at the same time I'm like a little boat in the eye of a hurricane.  I can see the possibility of devastation, but seem to be in this place where all is calm.  Notice I didn't say I'm at peace.  The peace of God, is a place I have to stand in regardless of the storms around me.  I have to be like the writer of the song; "It is well."  Even though the waves are rolling and my little ship is being tossed, I can look out over the scene of my life and say; It is well.  At the same time, that little word IF is trying to control my future in a way I can't discern.  So, I choose to live in the now.  That place of peace where even though I can see the storm around me, it doesn't cause me to fear. 
The future is filled with 'if' and the past is filled with the residue of past choices, as well as the collisions with other people's choices.  I heard a person preach a sermon about consequences, and the power of our choices.  The tone of the message was entirely judgmental, and unforgiving.  Our choices, good or bad, do have consequences, but some bad choices can also lead to good things.  (I know that sounds almost heretical.)  Remember the story of Joseph?  His brothers planned to kill him, but sold him into slavery instead. (Bad choice.) They lied to their father and said Joseph was killed by an animal. (Bad choice.)  Through many trials and a lot of Godly intervention, Joseph eventually became the salvation of Egypt, and his brothers.  His statement to them is one of my favorite passages.  'What was meant for evil has been for good.'
The past doesn't always inform the future.  That is the secret of God's redemption and forgiveness.  What I've learned this week, that is different from my last blog, is that I was given this moment, this NOW, to live in regardless of the past, and without fear of the future.  What I am responsible for is doing the right thing, the good thing, even if it appears bad to others.  There are moments when doing the right thing will injure others, or cause them pain.  That is why God didn't want us to know the knowledge of good and evil.  We've made His laws and commandments about us, when the truth is the complete opposite.  The knowledge of good and evil is how we treat one another, and how we view the past and future. That is where GRACE comes in.  Grace is the doorway to peace.  Paul would often open or close his letters to the churches with the salutation of 'grace and peace be with you.'   Notice that grace had to come before peace.  God's grace, the ability to overcome in any situation, is sufficient for me.  Live RIGHT now, and neither the past nor the future can bind you.