Psalm 22:27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him.

I chose this verse from the English, thinking it was a prophecy of the evangelization of the world, and then I find that the Japanese is more a prayer, an expression of desire that these things happen. Not knowing the Hebrew, I don’t know which is more accurate. This Psalm is of great importance, since it is the one Jesus started quoting from the cross. (Matthew 27:46) It actually describes many of the details of the crucifixion, so what follows that is of great interest. I wonder if the Japanese translators lacked faith at this point? The thing is, many other places in the Bible speak of the Gospel going out to all mankind. We are to desire for that to happen, as in the Japanese, and we are to believe that it positively will happen, as in the English. Many places in the Bible bring up the already/not yet tension, because God is outside of time, and so all things are now to Him. Jesus taught us to pray that God’s plans be fulfilled “on earth as it is in heaven,” (Matthew 6:10) because, as fully human, Jesus experienced the flow of time as we do, but He was also part of the Godhead, existing before Creation. That must have been quite an experience for Him! As we pray for God’s will to be done, we need to do so with the understanding that from God’s perspective it already has been done. For us, the eternal perspective is entirely a matter of faith, but we wait for the moment when “faith becomes sight,” as the well-loved hymn, It Is Well With My Soul puts it. We have been justified by the blood of Christ, but at the same time we are not yet made perfect, and the more we understand that tension, the more we long for the completion that will only come before the Throne. God’s thoughts and plans are indeed far higher than ours! (Isaiah 55:9)

I experience this tension constantly. The more I know of God, the more I am aware that I’m not there yet, but the more I know Him personally, the more I know that from His standpoint, it’s already done. I need to rest, relax, and rejoice even in that tension, just as He has told me to do. I know I belong to Him, and that is enough, because He is totally faithful. As He told Paul, His grace is sufficient for me, regardless of the circumstances. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Father, thank You for this reminder. This week marks my last as an employee of The Koyo Schools, which I have been for the past 42 years, and that frankly is a scary thought. Help me be active in my anticipation of what You have for me in this next stage of my life on earth, as I look forward to eternity with You. May I not draw back from anything You direct, but know that Your plans for me are perfect. (Jeremiah 29:11) Thank You. Praise God!