Despite sin and the willful frustration of God’s grace, his kingdom or reign is slowly but inexorably filling all of creation. As Isaiah predicted: “…the word that goes for the from my mouth will not return to me empty , without carrying our my will and succeeding in what is was sent to do”( Is 55:1).
Jesus Christ has already overcome sin and evil in the world(Jn 16:33); the true history of the world is the sort of God’s grace ratifying Christ's victory and gradually transforming and gracing all of creation until the Parousia when Christ will be all in all. As Paul wrote to the Romans:
“We are well aware that the whole world of creation, until this time, has been groaning in labor pains. And not only that: we too, who have the first fruits of the spirit, even we are groaning inside ourselves, waiting with eagerness for our bodies to be set free.”
Sometimes when we reflect on the shape of the world is in, it takes a sustained act of faith to believe that things in fact getting better and the grace and kingdom of God are spreading. But our faith is well-founded; we’re assured that “however much sin increased, grace was always greater” (Rom 5:20). The grace of Jesus is all powerful and will transform us and all creation but we have a role in that process.
To be continued.
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