Lay the Foundation

            This week I read this sentence: “[The man summoned by divine promise’s] understanding consists in the fact that in sympathy with the misery of being he anticipates the redeeming future of being and so lays the foundation of reconciliation, justification, and stability” (J. Moltmann, 1967, p.290). It’s a rather dense sentence in dense section of what is, in some ways, a wonderful book, Theology of Hope. To cut through the thicket of James Leitch’s translation Moltmann’s theological German, I homed in on the phrase “lays the foundation.”

            What foundation is laid by “the one summoned by divine promise? Anyone – you, me, your friend, anyone who has entrusted his life to Christ, received forgiveness, and been born again is to be counted among those summoned by the divine promise. In other words, this refers to Christians who are determined to follow Jesus. (Is there any other way that can be call ‘Christian,’ than total commitment to the way of Jesus?)

            This brought to my mind Dallas Willard’s thought in Divine Conspiracy and The Spirit of the Disciplines. One of the primary motivations Willard saw for living a spiritually disciplined life was that doing so prepared one for life in Heaven. Willard hinted at the possibility that all might go to Heaven, but it would only feel like Heaven for those who spent this life getting ready.

            So, how does one “lay the foundation,” or “get ready” (Willard)? How do we store up treasures in Heaven (Jesus – Matthew 6:19-21). What does foundation-laying/readying/storing up look like in one’s life? I wrote last month that this year, my spiritual teacher will be Simeon (Luke 2), the old man who hung out at the temple waiting for God to show him the “consolation of Israel.” Is foundation-laying/readying/storing up simply the wait? Is the disciple life a life of waiting God?

            In a sense, yes, but how do we spend out time waiting? My belief is our waiting is expectant. (1) We live each day expecting God to God-sized in our lives that day. (2) We live toward a specific end; toward the eternal kingdom of God, that was launched in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and will be fully consummated in his return. We live toward that return. We live today by the values and currency of that time.

            What is the defining value? Love. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. What is the only valid currency in the kingdom of God? Service. “The greatest among you must be … one who serves. … I [Jesus]am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:26, 27). So, my ambition is to wait on the Lord. My work, done while waiting, involves foundation-laying/readying/storing up. I do this work by honing in myself a heart of love for God and neighbor. I sharpen the effectiveness of my love and broaden the extent of my love by serving and helping others. No matter how badly I do this work, God gives me more opportunities. No matter how well I do, I can always improve.