Longing and Expectation

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. — Hebrews 11:13-16 (NIV)

Are we called to long for the kingdom of God without necessarily expecting that we will experience it in our present lives? Because that is not something that appeals to me. Instead, if I do not think that I will be able to gain something, then I do not want to long for it. I will try to reduce my longing so that I do not suffer the disappointment and discontent of not being able to have what I am desiring. I will try to settle for what I am able to achieve and find contentment in that.

I think we face a temptation to give up our longing for God's better world when we are frustrated in our efforts to seek it and gain it in our lives. I suspect that there are Christians who have made efforts to bring the kingdom of God to their work with high expectations of success, only to end up with disappointing and frustrating results. One response to this would be to give up on the idea of trying to bring the kingdom of God into your work, or make your work more like the Kingdom of God. Instead, be content and operate within the world of your work as it is. Stay away from outright deceit and corruption, try to be a kind worker who might get a chance to share your faith with a co-worker (although very rare) and be able to support your church and Christian ministries with your paychecks.

This is not a faithful path, but how would you get someone with these experiences to remain on a faithful path of longing? Stories of business success when seeking the kingdom of God are not going to help. It was that kind of expectation that has caused them to want to give up.

I see a theme amongst NT writers of encouraging a people whose lives are a lot harder than they expected them to be as children of God. The encouragement is to expect suffering and hardship, and not lose the longing or the hope for the better life that is promised. Throughout Hebrews, the emphasis is on holding onto a hope that is anchored not in our present lives, but in the life to come.

Would there be a difference between working from a place of hope and longing for the Kingdom of God than working from a place of expectation of experiencing the Kingdom of God? Someone might put in more effort if they expected certain results, but that effort would be motivated by anticipating a particular outcome. I think the biggest difference would be in how the worker responds when they encounter frustrating results. Longing is going to better serve the need for perseverance through difficult times than expectation.