[GlacierApproach, 2009, DJohanson]
Jeremiah 23:5-6 " Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
"The days are coming...." What power can reside in those words!
I remember as a young boy that my mother would say something similar... usually in a not very hopeful context. "One of these days, young man, you'll learn...." and then she would go on to fill in the specifics of that impending enlightenment that surely would either straighten me out or do me in entirely.
Of course it was not always bleak. There were those times when the "one of these days" speech foretold of the joy that lay on the other side of .... high school, .... college.... a well paying job... marriage. It was usually framed as the apodosis following some form of "if you work hard... then one of these days..."
Whatever the particular context... the idea that "the days are coming..." framed the current circumstance in terms of the future. It made the present understandable as because the "now" was connected to the "then". It may not have been an exact cause/effect relation.... there were variables that remained unaccountable... but there was a sense of inevitability to it... timing may be longer or shorter, the degree of attainment might be more or less.... but the essence never in doubt. The days are coming... the will come.... this present will be past and the future will be now.
That perspective of "now/then" that she so diligently impressed upon me has never left my soul. I honor her for her love, care and wisdom even now that she has past on these many years ago. How much we need that same sense to reawaken in our collective hearts in this bleak, "now" focused age in which we live.
It appears to me that our society is characterized by a certain bleakness about the future. We seem to simply accept that the best days are here, that things cannot get better, and that what we have is not all that great. The future will be more of the same at best and quite possibly a lot less. "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die" is not entirely apropros to the general sense... sadly because there is not much joy and feasting in the "now".
Christians however have no right to buy into that lie. The days of Jeremiah were truly bleak. The people of God did not face a happy future at all. "But", God said, "One of these days, there will come a day when the King of Righteousness will arise". There will come a day when there will be a new prosperity, a different kind of prosperity... a flourishing of peace, justice and salvation. This flourishing will be concomitant with his reign... it will start small, beginning when He ascends to His throne... but it will grow... and spread... and fill the whole earth. The angels who sing at His birth will weep at His death and shout at His resurrection. And then they will become His messengers, moving among men and serving those who serve Him. There will be battles and losses and pain and grief in some quarters, but His invincible advance shall surely overcome all His foes.
Like the clouds and the rain and the pastel skies, His glory will gently settle on a bleak and devastated landscape. The promise is true and cannot be denied. The barren forest will feather it leaves... the muddy river will run clean... and the hills will resound with laughter.
One of these days... it will be complete. One of these days .... One of these days.
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