Ultimate and Penultimate

The Day of the Lord and the Greater Hope

Back in December I was asked to teach a class at a local Church of Christ about the Greater Hope, the belief that all of humanity will, ultimately, be reconciled to God. 

At the start of the class I shared a bit of my story in regards to the Greater Hope. Like a lot of people, I was introduced to the Scottish author and pastor George MacDonald (1824-1905) through a deep dive into C.S. Lewis. MacDonald's Unspoken Sermons was my first exposure to the Greater Hope, and it proved decisive for me.

After my class a few attendees remained behind for some continued conversation. One of the issues we discussed, which was also raised in the class itself, was the motivational impact of the Greater Hope. This is a common concern. Specifically, if everyone, eventually, is reconciled to God doesn't that demotivate our evangelistic and missionary efforts? If everyone will be saved in the end, why express any concern about or devote any energy into reaching the lost? 

Also, doesn't the Greater Hope deflate our moral urgency? Might I, for example, choose to live a dissolute life in this world, banking on the knowledge that it'll all get sorted out after I die? Seems like a great bargain! I can have my cake and eat it to. 

Finally, what about justice for victims? Doesn't the Greater Hope diminish the tears of the oppressed by asserting that the perpetrators get blessed in the end? 

In response, one of the things to observe here is that, when we remove behavioral consequences from the Christian imagination, damnation for the lost and blessed reward for the saved, a lot of Christians struggle to make sense of things like gospel proclamation, mission, and righteousness. Crudely put, if no one is going to get punished then what's the point? 

As should be obvious, this is a very immature way to view the motivations that should be at work in mature Christian living. Sure, when we're children extrinsic consequences are necessary for moral development. But as we get older, our behavioral controls should become internalized as our motivations become less extrinsic (sticks and carrots) and more intrinsic, reflective of my values and identity. I don't avoid X because I fear getting caught and spanked (i.e., extrinsic motivation). I avoid X because X is incompatible with the person I want to become (i.e., intrinsic motivation). But here's the thing I want to point out: For some peculiar reason, Christians struggle to envision the spiritual life as being driven by intrinsic motivations. Once you remove the sticks and carrots many Christians become wholly confused. They cannot imagine life with God without a extrinsic reward/punishment system, and remain stuck with a Kindergarten vision of Christian formation and mission. 

That said, a legitimate point remains about motivation. If there truly were no consequences that would create a motivational vacuum. But a consequenceless future is not what the Greater Hope envisions, at least not as I envision it. The Bible is clear that all of humanity will be judged on the Day of the Lord. Our lives will be weighed in the balance. We all will face the Great Accounting. Judgment Day. The Great Assize. In the language of 1 Corinthians 3, on that Day "the fire will test the quality of each person’s work." Everyone faces the music.

In short, there will be consequences. 

Given this, here's how I sort out the relationship between Day of the Lord and the Greater Hope in light of human motivation. 

Our most pressing concern is God's eschatological judgment upon humanity. The Day of the Lord is our most proximate concern. This judgment is impinging upon our lives, hangs over us. In the language of John the Baptist, the axe is at the root. 

Because of this, the Day of the Lord--as our impinging, pressing, and most proximate concern--should dominate our consciousness and conversation. How we stand in relation to God's judgment is really the only thing we should be talking about. Right now, it's the thing that matters. Phrased differently, this is the season for prophetic speech: "Repent! Weep and wail! Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord!"

Now, what happens after the Day of the Lord? If the Day of the Lord is our proximate concern, what about our ultimate destiny? Looking past judgment, to the far horizon, that is the concern of the Greater Hope. Consequences are coming, but can wrath and rejection be God's final words to his beloved creation? The Greater Hope dares to declare that, ultimately, God will be Alpha and Omega for all of humanity. God is both our Origin and our Destiny.  

In short, the Greater Hope and the Day of the Lord relate to each other as ultimate (the last thing) to penultimate (the next to last thing). Knowing this, I think we can all agree that skipping to the end, jumping over the penultimate to get to the ultimate, can create some confusions and distortions. If you hop over the Day of the Lord to the Greater Hope this is sure going to sound like a Get Out of Jail Free card in the Monopoly game of life. However, you can't get to the ultimate without going through the penultimate. You can't skip a step. 

This is why some of the church fathers expressed concern about speaking too often and openly about the Greater Hope. Too much talk about the Happy Ending skips our most pressing, proximate concern, God's eschatological judgment upon my life and yours. Evil is at large in the world, and I contribute my share, and the wrath of God waxes hot. The tears of the oppressed have not gone unnoticed. This issue, the moral status of the world, is our most pressing concern. So, let's keep our eye on the ball.

Still, the human mind is inquisitive! Today has its demands, yes, but we wonder about tomorrow. Some of us look to the far horizon to ask question about our ultimate destiny, about what it means in the end that God will be "all in all" (1 Cor. 15.28), or about what it will look like when Christ "reconciles all things to himself" (Col. 1.20).  What ray of hope is shining through here? And for many of us, these sorts of questions about our ultimate destiny are critical and urgent inquiries. Faith seeks understanding! Consequently, there are times and places when we should discuss the Greater Hope. True, we're skipping an eschatological step here, and a legitimate worry can be expressed that we're ignoring some pressing moral and social issues to speculate about last things. I hear that concern, that too much focus upon the ultimate can diminish the urgency of the penultimate. Still, there is a time and a place for a discussion about the Greater Hope.

That said, are there many Christians who can handle this eschatological balancing in how they talk and think about last things? Probably not. But it is possible to keep the penultimate and the ultimate in their proper order and perspective while being contextually alert to when it is productive to talk about one or the other.