In Mark 1:15 the gospel begins with John the Baptizer saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.” He proclaimed what was to come after all had been made ready for the Christ. A few short years later, on the cross, Christ completed His work on earth with the words, “It is finished” (John 19:30). If we are to know how to live as Christ did and so become just like Him, understanding what happened in the space between these two words is vital.

Jesus knew precisely the end He had in mind and lived in the space between those two words accordingly. But for you and me, what precisely is the end we have in mind? Is the space between the first word spoken over us and the last word we speak going to be lived as purposefully as Christ’s life?

The month of January is named after the Roman god Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions, pictured with two faces—one facing back, the other forward, which seems very appropriate for this month. Acknowledging what has been, we can look forward at what is to come. Considering this, how would we describe the end we have in mind and how are we living towards it? For many believers the answer seems simple. Our end is to go to be with Jesus when we die and live in heaven forever. That thought has brought comfort to millions over the ages. But is it the answer, or only part of the answer? Salvation and heaven, for many believers, is the only end we think or sing about. But what of the space between? By focusing on a great truth, have we neglected or forgotten others?

When Noah and His family were saved from the flood, it was so they could rebuild the kind of world that God always intended. When Moses and the Israelites were freed on Passover night and as they crossed through the Red Sea, it was to live in a promised land under the covenant love and rule of God, as the cloud and fire of God’s presence led them. If the “end” is merely living in heaven after we die, have we understood that the Lord’s Prayer speaks of a kingdom on earth as it is in heaven? Christ spoke of the “age to come” not merely as a continuation, but a new creation all together. This is why John’s gospel begins with a creation reprise. The space between our beginning and our end is how we prepare for eternity by living as re-created citizens of the kingdom of heaven, while here on earth.

The Holy Spirit leads us as the Lord within us, not a cloud or pillar of fire before us. He leads us to do the works Jesus did. Are the things we are doing now leading us toward the end God always had in mind for us?

Satan, the anti-creator can only bring death, but he was defeated by Jesus, the Lord and creator of life. "In Him was life, the life that was the light of all men" (John 1:4). We go through spiritual death, to re-creation, as citizens of the kingdom of heaven (2 Corinthians 5:17). We do not need to wait for heaven when we die, because it has come and taken up residence in our lives. The kingdom of God is within you by His Spirit (John 14:17).

Let’s live on earth as citizens of heaven, empowered to live as people of the kingdom, until the end of this age when Christ will return. Let’s work every day toward that end. A happy re-created life to you this new year, and for all eternity.

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Chris Jones is the Global Outreach Director at New Hope Church. He longs for the unreached people of the world to experience the life-changing love of God and for people at New Hope Church to find fullness of joy by obeying the Great Commission.