"Your labor is not in vain"

In his 6 July 2010 post on The Schooley Files, Keith Schooley quotes 1Corinthians 15:55-58, "... your labor is not in vain" and makes an insightful observation: "... if we know that this present creation is going to be redeemed, then we need to live in it as though we were an agent of that transformation."

Schooley's comment came in a discussion of Bishop N. T. Wright's book, Surprised by Hope.  Bishop Wright strongly believes that many Christians think that once they are saved they can just be good and follow all the Rules, hoping not to "mess up."  They are waiting to die and go to Heaven, taking others with them if possible.  To them, it's all "in the Sweet By and By." One of Wright's recurring themes is that we are to realize that the Kingdom of God is here now.  We are to assume now the ways of thought and habits we will need to fulfill our duties in the next life.  The positive things we can do in this life can truly be seen as part of God's working out of his purposes in the world.

In his book, After You Believe, Bishop Wright writes specifically about this concept.  Tomorrow's post will be specifically about After You Believe.