About the Site

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:18–25 ESV)

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These verses have always resonated with me.

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I like that Paul acknowledges the reality of suffering. Following Jesus isn’t a pathway to earthly glory. We’re not promised our best life. What we are promised is adoption and redemption. There is coming a day when the dwelling place of God will be with people, and we will no longer be slaves to the powers of sin and death.

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In the meantime, we are people of hope.

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This hope isn’t groundless because God has given us his Spirit as a down payment. Every now and then, God breaks through the divide between heaven and earth and we catch glimpses of the divine. In a real way, we live with God now.

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Theologians like to talk about the “already but not yet.” We already experience life with God through the Spirit, but we are not yet made whole.  

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This site is dedicated to exploring that tension.

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I have found that a good chunk of evangelicalism doubles down on the “already.” This can look like prosperity preaching or political lobbying (for the left or the right!). The downside of this form of spirituality is that it cannot account for failure. But on the flip side, another faction of evangelicalism sees only the “not yet.” They embrace what some have called worm theology. Obsessed with human depravity and the motivating power of shame, they are unable to accept that God loves them as they are in Christ. The downside of this form of spirituality is that it promotes living in shame or false humility.

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What does it look like to follow Jesus, not in the triumphalism of the wholly “already,” nor in the self-loathing of the wholly “not yet,” but in the tension between the two?

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What does it look like to acknowledge that by the Spirit we have the power to change, but that in Christ we are beloved just as we are?