Now but Not Yet!

At 6am, this morning, a half-asleep Betty remarked that it was very light, so what was the time! I checked the clock and went back to sleep.
Being into March, the mornings are lighter, and even some of our primroses are now in flower. In a week or two, William Wordsworth could re-write his daffodils poem, as he wandered lonely as a cloud along Bampton Way, and caught sight of our front garden. Unless, the approach of Mothering Sunday (or Mother's Day, if you are from the US) encourages children to pick some flowers for their mums!
But winter has gone, and while we are not yet into summer, we are on the way. It is 'Now but Not Yet!'
Much Christian theology and experience is in the 'Now but Not Yet!'
Jesus preached about the Kingdom of God, which He said had arrived. But then He also spoke of the future Kingdom, to be shared and spread by His followers. It is 'Now but Not Yet!'
At the end of Matthew's Gospel, which has presented Jesus as the true King, worshipped by all nations (the Wise Men from the East and so on), Jesus tells his followers, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28.18-20)
Because Jesus is the King with all authority, His Kingdom is NOW. But we have work to do, under His authority, to extend that Kingdom, so we live with the Kingdom being NOT YET, even to the end of the age.
Living with that tension will shape how we follow Jesus these days of Lent. May we experience His presence and power, while we struggle with problems and pains.
Best wishes,
Richard