You might fear the future because you don't know what it holds. The future, however, belongs to God. Traditions connect past present and future to God. So hold fast to the traditions.

Fear of the future, a need for tradition

We were driving in the middle of the road. The tires of the minivan symmetrically straddled the double yellow lines. I white knuckled while the driver, a member of the church, was squarely in the lane of oncoming traffic. The driver suddenly realized what he was doing and calmly moved back into the lane. “Sorry," he said, "I’m getting used to driving in California.”

My look of profound confusion prompted him to say more, "For the past year we were living on my in-laws farm and nobody really cared that I drove in the middle of the road...ever since I was discharged from the Army and came home from Iraq.” I must have looked confused. He laughed and simply said, “I.E.D.s You know, Improvised Explosive Devices. You were more likely to get blown up if you drove on the side of the road . When I came back to the U.S. I was on the farm and I just kept driving in the middle of the road. Now that I’m in California I have to figure out how to drive like a civilian again.”

My friend went on to share with me his fear of the future, immediately down the road and beyond. He wasn’t sure what job he would find, and how he would provide for his family. He needed to hold fast to the traditions.

You Don’t Know What the Future Holds

Perhaps you have some fear of the future too. Trauma in particular can trigger fear, but the fact is no matter who you are you do not know what the future holds. In Jesus’ day some people believed in life after death and others did not, such as the Sadducees. If you do believe in life after death, then there are some interesting questions to ponder. What will marriage and love be like in heaven? The Sadducees give an extreme example: 

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her." Luke 20:27-33

This example illustrates a basic fact. We don’t know what the future holds. We don’t know what heaven will be like, and we don’t know what tomorrow will be like. Jesus didn’t go into detail as to what exactly the resurrection will be like. He did, however, make a point that the future belongs to God. Whether you think about the future on Earth, or in Heaven, all ages belong to God: past, present, and future. That's why we hold fast to the traditions.

The Future Belongs to God

Job is a tremendous person of faith from the Bible, and the journey of his life and faith illustrates the power of God’s presence in every age. Job had a large family, was very wealthy, and was very faithful to God. Satan tested Job to see if he truly loved God arguing that Job only appeared to love God because of his material po