Do you wish for a GPS to guide you into the future? Do you despair at only seeing your life, like Paul, “through a glass darkly”? How does God reveal what’s ahead to us?
Most of us are interested in the future. Edward Cornish, founder of the World Future Society, said he was interested in the future because he expected to “live the rest of his life in it.” If you’re looking ahead in faith, here are some “future finding” tips to use.
Future finding for fun and prophet
• Future finding’s “what if’s.”
Most of our lives are lived in the here-and-now on the basis of “what is.” But, asking ourselves “what if?” reorients our energies toward all of our potential futures. “What if” moves us from concreteness to creativity, from today’s realities toward tomorrow’s possibilities.
“What if” questions stretch our imaginations and create positive options. Our “what if” explorations welcome us to sample futures we’ve never before considered. Look at these discovery questions. What if God gave you a day with a well-known person? Who would that person be? What would you expect to learn? How would you be changed? What if God transported you anywhere in the world? Where would you go? Why does that site attract you? How would you be changed? What if God made you invisible for a day? Who would you observe? What would you learn? How would you be changed? “What if” opens doors for exploration and discovery.
• Future finding’s open-ended stories.
Effective religious leaders are often good storytellers. It’s no surprise that the most common literary form in the Bible is stories or narratives. Stories make up 40 percent of the Old Testament, and, in the New Testament, the Gospels and Acts follow that same pattern. Biblical stories are personal accounts of how God has worked in history. God, playing the lead role, invites us to step into his stories and experience his mighty acts.
Futurists use multiple scenarios as foretastes of tomorrow. Run, Lola, Run, a 1998 German film, tells one story through three scenarios. Lola is trying to save the life of her boyfriend, Manni, by gathering 100,000 Deutschmarks in 20 minutes. Lola arrives too late in the first run or scenario. The second run ends tragically. The third run ends well for all. Each story shares a common challenge and reflects a possible future in life’s choices.
Parabolic stories can illuminate the pathway ahead. I learned about the use of parabola, those curved shapes like a quarter-moon or the St. Louis arch, in engineering school. I learned that parabolic reflectors in headlights gather and focus light. Then, I discovered an even more personal application through studying parables in seminary. Jesus’ 40 or 50 parables are simple stories that also shine light on our souls. These provocative stories explore or compare possibilities, remember or update options, and reveal or conceal truths. Parables let us live into the story and look toward our horizons with more confidence. Step into God’s future stories and see where they take you.
• Future finding’s pared present.
The ancient monks practiced “shedding.” They were convinced that God needed us to unclutter our lives in order to make room for him to work. Are we crowding God out? Is the pace and weight of your present distracting us from our futures? Is it time to pare down today and create space for tomorrow? It may be timely to use brakes before we press down on accelerators.
Horticulturists know how important it is to prune fruit trees. Why? Fruit only grows on new wood. Lop off the half-dead to enliven the future fully. Maybe our lives need “delete” keys to clear the debris that blocks from our futures. Some deliberate forgetting can pare down “now” to see “then.”
• Future finding’s steadying promises.
We humans rely on and live by promises — those pledges and assurances of what is expected will be done. Promises, particularly God’s promises, provide portals for us to “look forward and then live forward.” What God has already promised will be done in his time and because of his trustworthiness.
Promises function as faith’s periscopes, helping us peer over the horizon into our unfolding futures. What has God promised us? What promises have persons of faith made to us? What have we promised to do for and with others? What have we promised ourselves? The answers to those questions are strong indicators of our futures.
God’s futures, not future
As we stretch to see over our horizons, remember that God is unlimited and works in plurals. He has rich futures for us to discover and follow. Find them. Live them in faith.
Bob Dale ([email protected]) is a leader coach in Richmond and a retired seminary professor and denominational worker.