The Tragedy of Now
Retirement.
As newlyweds, retirement was one of the hardest topics for us to discuss. See, in our early to mid-twenties, retirement felt like such an abstract, someday out there, and distant idea. It just never felt pressing. But, you know what was pressing? The needs and the realities of today. The here and now. I was a bi-vocational pastor cobbling together 3-4 different jobs, and Danielle was teaching at a small private school. Needless to say, the needs of now dominated our purview. Then, a mentor of mine pointed out the tragedy that would eventually come by only looking at the now. He gently encouraged me to look at the reality of what felt abstract. Danielle and I have grown in our ability to talk about and make intentional steps to plan for retirement. Yes, it still feels abstract, out-there, and distant. Yes, the pressing needs of now still creep in and require intentional effort to not be wholly distracted by them. But, that only happens because we were encouraged by the reality of the looming tragedy that can come from being distracted by the now.
Jesus confronted this same dynamic through his parables. Well, not on retirement, per se. He confronted the lie that the now is always more important than what is so far down the road that it doesn’t feel real. What was the down-the-road thing that Jesus thought to be so important that we should actually focus on it right now? Eternity.
Yes, you read that right, eternity.
The simple truth is this, Jesus believed that eternity is very real and very important. So he taught about it, and he taught that all people would and will experience eternity. They will either be with God or separated from him. Jesus knew that the pressing needs of the now often distract us from the reality of eternity, and to miss the truth about eternity is truly tragic. In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote this on the topic of eternity,
“Christianity asserts that every individual human being is going to live forever, and this must be either true or false. Now there are a good many things which would not be worth bothering about if I were going to live only 70 years, but which I had better bother about very seriously if I am going to live forever. Perhaps my bad temper or my jealousy are gradually getting worse – so gradually that the increase in 70 years will not be very noticeable, but it might be absolute hell in a million years: in fact, if Christianity is true, hell is the precisely correct technical term for what it would be.”[1]
Lewis echoes the truth that Jesus doesn’t want us to miss; eternity matters a great deal because it is very real, and all people will experience it. The greatest tragedy would be for us to be distracted by the problems, pressures, desires, or pleasures of the now and miss out on eternal joy.
Eternity might feel distant, abstract, and altogether far off. You might even agree with Jesus that eternity is real. But, does my daily life reflect the reality that you and I are eternal beings? Are we tragically distracted by the now and missing out on something more significant because it has no end?
Lewis would ask us, “What should we be bothering about if we are going to live forever?”
The gracious gift offered to us by Jesus is that it is never too late to begin or to refocus on the reality of eternity. Great joy waits for us as we step into that space.
[1] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, chap. 1: p.73.