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The important and fundamental question we must ask is this: “When is the real life?” “Now!” the modern materialist would say—the good life, the real life is now and then it ends. Many reincarnationalists, most pious Christians, and mainline religious people believe that the real life is later, after this life. This falsehood has wrongly framed the Christian religion more than anything else despite the fact that Jesus clearly said the Kingdom of God is first of all now, and therefore also later—and even forever: As now, so then. This becomes the promise of that. Here is the assurance and guarantee of there. That is the important sequence.
Once Jesus’ great and good news became a reward-punishment system that only checked into place in the next world instead of a transformational system in this world, Christianity in effect moved away from a religion of letting go and trusting, and became instead a religion of holding on, hunkering down, and self-protecting. Religion’s very purpose for many people was to protect the status quo of empire, power, war, money, and the private ego. In many ways, we have not been a force for liberation, peacemaking, or change in the world. One thing for sure is that healthy religion is always telling us to change our lives instead of giving us ammunition to try to change others. Authentic Christianity is a religion of constantly letting go of the false self so the True Self in God can stand free and revealed—now.
Adapted from The Art of Letting Go: Living the Wisdom of St. Francis (CD)
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