We do well when it comes to the past and the future. What do I mean by that? Well, we very much, and rightly so, emphasize what our Lord Jesus Christ did for us in the past. Our salvation is based on what Jesus did for us 2000 years ago on the cross. He suffered a horrible death, death by crucifixion, and rose from the dead. Jesus proved that He was the master over death. And because He is, we no longer have to fear death's power. If it weren't for what Jesus did in the past, there would be no present and future for us. So we very much focus on what Jesus did for us in the past.

We also do well when it comes to the future. Because of what Jesus did for us in the past, we have a wonderful future to look forward to. Death isn't the end. We will live in heaven forever with Jesus. Also, sometime in the future this world will be destroyed. Jesus is going to come again with all the angels and saints of heaven to gather His chosen ones here on earth. Then He is going to destroy the world by fire. Nothing will be left. This all is going to happen in the future.

Unfortunately, there is one aspect of time that gets the least amount of attention, and that is the present. We do well in emphasizing the past and future aspects of time in God's plan of salvation for us. But we do this at the expense of the present. We don't accent enough how the present fits in with God's plan of salvation for us. We see clearly how the past and future fit in but not so much the role of the present in our salvation.

The passage from Paul's letter to the Romans focuses on the present. In other words, it tells us how we are to live now since we are God's children. It tells us how we are to live in the present for our Lord. Let me put all of this into perspective.

Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead for our sins. That happened 2000 years ago, in the past. Because we believe that, we live now according to how He tells us to live, which is how we can please Him in the present. We live for Him now as we wait for the future fulfillment of life eternal with Him. So do we see how the past, present, and future come together? One dimension of time really isn't more important than the other. The past, present and future are equally important. Without one, you can't have the others. Without the future, which is the promise of life eternal and the end of the world, the past and present are meaningless. Without the present, which is living for Christ right now---an indication of our belief in God---the past and future are meaningless. And without the past, which is Christ's death on the cross and resurrection, there is no future and the present is meaningless. So we can't have one or two dimensions of time without the others.

The Apostle Paul brings out this fact. We see the past, present, and future in all of His letters. He usually ends his letters by focusing on the present. In other words, the last chapters and verses are dedicated to how we ought to live as we rejoice in the fact that Jesus died and rose for us and will come back to take us to Himself.

This passage from Romans is a good example of what I've just been saying. Paul begins in chapter twelve with practical exhortations for us. These are guidelines for us in the present. They tell us how we can live for God now.

The reason I'm making a big deal of this is because, as I said at the outset, we tend to emphasize the past and the future and talk little about the present when it comes to God's plan for us. What we do in the present is our response to what God has done for us in the past and will do for us in the future. And so I believe it's important for us to look at how God wants us to live for Him in the present.

I know we're human. We all slip up from time to time. We get caught up in a different present reality. But we must remember that our present belongs to God. We do good deeds now in our life to please our Lord. And as I've said before, good deeds bear witness to a living faith within us. As James tells us, faith without works is dead.

One way to help us keep on track is by asking ourselves how our Lord would handle or respond to a situation. I know that in the heat of the moment we aren't always thinking clearly. For example, in the passage it says we ought not to repay evil for evil. Unfortunately, when someone wrongs us, we immediately want to respond with evil. Often times, that's our first instinct. We don't give things time to cool down. We immediately lash out with evil. "That person offended me, so I'm going to offend him right back." Or "That person says one thing to my face, but behind my back says unpleasant things about me. He talks out of both sides of his mouth. I'm going to do the same to him." That's not living in the present for Jesus. I realize that those who do these things to others often times don't think anything of it. It's normal to talk out of both sides of one's mouth. It's normal to lie. It's normal to back stab and so on. But that's not how God's real children are to act. We don't do these things. God will judge those who do.

We have to be conscious of our behavior at all times. We have to have a desire to live the present for our God and not let the heat of the moment sweep us away. Repaying evil for evil isn't the best choice. God has redeemed us. He is our Master. And we follow in our Master's footsteps.

If we aren't living the present for Him, then what Jesus did in the past for us was for naught. And the only thing we have to hope for in the future is eternal separation from God. I hope we all understand how what we do in the present is linked to God's plan of salvation for us in the past and future.

I have a couple of questions for us. Are we living the present for God? Are the past and the future alive for us right now in the present? Or, are we living the present as if the past, Jesus' death and resurrection, never happened and the future, eternal life with God, will never come?

I would encourage all of us to live by the power of the Holy Spirit, who lives within us. Let Him guide and lead us in the present through the Word. Let Him allow us to live for our Lord and not be conformed to the world's understanding of the present. May God give us the power to live now and forever for Him.