Forever
their problem, because their pack-it-all-into-the-here-and-now quest would just migrate to another arena, and they would be as driven and in danger as they are in the area of food. Jack, David, and Beth each need to be rescued from a view of life that has no movement toward eternity. They need to be res- cued from the here-and-now drivenness of their own functional present-ism. Jack, David, and Beth need forever to be given back to them. It is the only way real change will take place in the way they live. Destination versus Preparation Many of us treat here and now as a destination. Whatever our confessional theology says about eternity, at the functional level we live as if this is all there is. We live with a destination mentality instead of a preparation mentality . This present world with all of its joys and sorrows is not our final address. When we treat it as if it is, we try to get from this world what we can only experience in the next. We try to pack into our present life all the pleasure, happiness, and excitement we can. We do this because what comes with the thought that this life is all there is, is an inescapable fear that somehow life will pass us by. Here is what a destination mentality fails to understand: our complete, present, personal hap- piness is not what God is working on in the here and now. Why? Because the plan of his grace is to deliver us out of this world to one that is much, much better. Whether we live with eternity in view or not, there is one thing we all need to understand: God always responds to us with eternity in view. You see, God has designed that this would not be the final destination for his children. He knows that this is a terribly bro- ken world that, in its present state, does not function the way that he intended. This world is not a safe place to look to for a sense of well-being. For that, we need to live with a preparation mentality, approaching each day knowing that this world is not intended to
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