Already But Not Yet

In the novel Death Comes for the Deconstructionist, Daniel Taylor provides a great illustration for the “already but not yet” nature of God’s kingdom. This is a difficult concept: that God’s kingdom is already present but not yet fully realized. In the novel, the author describes Judy eating a hot dog. He writes, “Judy sits across the small galley table slowly chewing a hot dog on a fork that she holds up close to her face. She takes a bite and then stares at the end of the hot dog while she chews, slowly but inexorably, balanced between the pleasure of the hot dog in her mouth and the anticipation of the next bite to come. A perfect illustration of the now and not yet—the once and future hot dog” (Daniel Taylor, Death Comes for the Deconstructionist [Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2015], chap. 2). As we talk about the tension we experience in following Christ in the twentyfirst century, keep this imagery at the front of your mind.