Faith For the Here and Now

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I watched an episode of the Netflix TV series "Black Mirror" the other night that got me thinking about the afterlife.  

Black Mirror is a sort of Twilight Zone for our own times, focusing on stories that reflect the current anxieties and ethical dilemmas of a high-tech future that is hurtling toward us faster than we can imagine.

The particular episode that intrigued me was about a process where people who were dying could transfer their consciousness to a virtual world in a California beach town, which they could visit in any era of time they could remember.    

They had the choice before they died to permanently transfer their consciousness there, or to roll the dice on what comes next naturally.  

You could choose your own version of Heaven, in other words, with certainty.  

I must admit, the idea of this sent my mind reeling.  Most Christians (myself included) have been taught at one time or another that the point of being Christian is to ensure you will go to Heaven when you die.  

So many people of faith live with the preoccupation of what happens when we die.  Heaven is the goal. This world, as the old hymn says, is not our home.  The TV show reminded me that a preoccupation with what comes next can truly affect the way we embrace our present.  

Too often, the Christian life is presented as a kind of cosmic transaction: believe this now, behave this way now, and you’ll be rewarded later. While the hope of eternity is certainly part of our faith, the heart of the gospel is not merely about getting into heaven someday—it’s about living in God’s presence here and now. As theologian Marcus Borg put it:

“The Christian life is not about pleasing God the finger-shaker and judge. It is not about believing now or being good now for the sake of heaven later. It is about entering a relationship in the present that begins to change everything now. Spirituality is about this process: the opening of the heart to the God who is already here.”

This quote reminds us that Christianity is not escapism. It is an incarnation. It is God with us. Jesus didn’t teach his followers to escape the world, but to love it, serve it, and heal it. When his disciples asked how to pray, Jesus taught them to say, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Heaven is not just a distant destination—it is a present reality that we are invited to participate in and embody. The Kingdom of God is not only something we look forward to; it is something we live into. Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom is at hand, already breaking into this world through love, justice, compassion, and mercy.

When we live our faith with this mindset, it transforms our relationships, our priorities, and our purpose. We begin to see every moment, every interaction, as sacred. We seek reconciliation now, not just peace in the afterlife. We serve the poor now, not just hope for a better world someday. We open our hearts to God now, trusting that the Spirit is already at work, renewing all things.

Christian spirituality, then, is not primarily about what happens when we die. It’s about how we live while we are alive. It is about abiding in Christ today, walking with God in the present, and letting that presence change us—from the inside out.

May you begin to notice the God who is already here. And may you have the courage to embody the Kingdom of God—not just as a hope for tomorrow, but as a way of life today. Let your life be a glimpse of heaven on earth.

May this be so for all of us, and may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all, now and forever.  Amen.  


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