Getting So Much Better All The Time

What does the future hold? The answer depends on how far in the future we are talking. Policies that are good in the short run might be bad in the long run, but not so bad in the longest run. I have reason to believe that the problems of today will be dwarfed by the joys of tomorrow and that all things will be redeemed.

Part of this mindset comes from my experiences with depression, anxiety, and self-control. I was rescued from my own mental traps by God himself in such a way that I was made to understand that all minds must necessarily undergo the same process. Reasoning further, I figured out that society as a whole (being a sum of minds) must be evolving in the same way. At some point, the failures of our collective idols will remove our faith in them and leave us dependent on God alone for guidance. Thus, things are getting better, even if by some measures it can temporarily look like things are getting superficially worse in some ways or in some geographical areas.

Part of this mindset comes from faith. It would be impossible for me to go forward if I actually believed there was no reason to do so. In order to participate in the economy, I must at least believe in the possibility that my dollar earned will still have worth five minutes from now when I want to spend it. In order to pray for an ailing friend, I must at least believe in the possibility that God will heal them. Society is nothing but the sum of the lives of all of us, so believing in personal good is tied to believing in world good. The moment I allow myself to think the world is going to collapse into permanent chaos is the moment I lose any reason whatsoever to invest in my employer, family, church, or myself.

Many Christians believe that the world is getting worse and worse and will completely collapse before Jesus returns to rescue his people from it, building a “new” Earth for them elsewhere. I have very different ideas. I believe Jesus is returning, but since he lives “in us” and tends to operate through what we interpret as natural forces anyways, the most likely scenario by far is that the world is redeemed gradually in such a way that it looks from the outside like we did it ourselves without God.

The Bible itself supports this idea. The Red Sea didn’t simply part, but was blown away by winds. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a stone made without human hands that would cover the whole Earth. This is said to be the Kingdom of God that we learn later in the New Testament is “among us.” We also hear from Jesus himself that the prophecies of Isaiah have come true “before our very eyes.” We hear that the Kingdom of God is like a tiny amount of yeast that fills every part of the dough, almost as if it one day grows and influences everything. We hear that the “gates of Hell will not prevail,” suggesting that the forces of sin are in retreat, and that it is God taking over the world, not Satan. The subtle hints are everywhere throughout the Bible and I suspect that the “new Earth” might really refer to the continually renewed Earth of the future.

History also supports me. With the exception of the height of the Black Death, the human population has risen every single year in the past two millennia. We now have rudimentary space travel. We could spread out and be God’s tool in creating a “new Heaven” as well. Crunching the numbers, this scenario is actually more likely than not.

This is what gives me purpose and drives me to write fiction and non-fiction. I want to point the way to the future, educating people on possibilities they might not have considered, inspiring hope and driving creativity. Evangelism is not just inviting people to escape Hell, it’s inviting them to join a never-ending celebration of the endless improvement in God’s expanding Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is coming whether you are ready for it or not. In fact, it’s already here.

---

Please leave a comment!

If you like this blog, be sure to explore my SubStack ChartingPossibilities, where I post more thoughts on science, philosophy, and culture, plus excerpts from my many published books, my YouTube channel WayOutDan, where I post weird stories from my life, my science fiction series ChampionOfTheCosmos, and my xenobiology field guide FloraAndFaunaOfTheUniverse. You can support me by buying my books, or tipping me at BuyMeACoffee.