The world is changing much more rapidly now and Christianity has played a vital role in those changes, but few Christians seem to be noticing. They should be looking out the window more to see how the Holy Spirit is using the interrelationship of Christianity and science to produce those dramatic changes. Christians have been expecting the physical return of Jesus for over 2000 years, but if it had occurred in Jerusalem even a century ago, people in other parts of the world would not have been able to see what he was doing. Today if he were to physically return, virtually everyone on Earth could follow everything he did on television or their computers.
It may still be centuries before he returns because, as theologian N. T. Wright has suggested, the kingdom of God on Earth is still evolving and has not reached maturity. Although the followers of Jesus around the world are attempting to teach love and teamwork, they are still not a very well organized team. There has been considerable progress toward unity of effort, but pockets of conflict still exist.
This Advent period of the church year seems like a great time for Christians everywhere to dedicate themselves to more effective teamwork. It will require the guidance of the Holy Spirit to achieve a better understanding of God’s goal and then systematically coordinating their efforts to achieve that goal. It might also mean choosing a road less traveled with Jesus spiritually leading the way instead of continuing on a road with well-worn ruts.
Robert C. Frank
Author of Christ's Team
