“The Now and the Not Yet” by Amy Grant

No longer what we were before,
But not all that we will be.
Tomorrow, when we lock the door,
On all our compromising,
When He appears,
He’ll draw us near,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

We will be like Him,
For we shall see Him,
As He is.

No longer what we saw before,
But not all that we will see.
Tomorrow, when we lock the door,
On all our disbelieving,
When He appears (holy, holy),
Our view will clear,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

But I’m caught in between
The now and the not yet;
Sometimes it seems like
Forever and ever,
That I’ve been reaching to be
All that I am,
But I’m only a few steps nearer,
Yet I’m nearer….

No longer what we were before,
But not all that we will be.
Tomorrow, when we lock the door,
On all our disbelieving,
And He appears (holy, holy),
He’ll draw us near,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

When He appears (holy, holy),
He’ll draw us near,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

Written by Pam Mark Hall

Dear God, so I woke up with another song going in my head this morning. I suppose I’m grateful these are sweet Christian songs that are coming to mind. It’s nice to know that’s where my head is when I wake up. An interesting coincidence between this song and the song I prayed about yesterday, “Finally” by Gary Chapman. Amy Grant is Gary’s ex-wife. So there’s a connection there.

I suspect (I don’t know because I don’t think I will know for sure until I am on the other side of death), that I was taught some errant things about heaven back in the 80s when I first heard this song. I don’t believe some of the rapture/tribulation theology I believed back then. So when I sat down to hear this song this morning in full, I wondered if I would be disappointed in what it said. I was relieved to know it fits into more my current thoughts on New Earth and “the not yet.”

So back to the song that apparently Pam Mark Hall wrote. With songs like this, I like to think about the writer sitting somewhere and expressing these feelings. In this case, feeling the growth of her spiritual life and development in the fruits of the Spirit, but also feeling the distance that still exists between her and the woman she wishes she could be under you. I’ve felt that a lot. I know I’m not the man I was 30, 15, 5, or even one year ago. I am slowly being formed. But if there is a spectrum of 1 to 100 on human holiness, with Jesus being 100, I have maybe moved from an 8 to a 15 (even that feels too generous). There is a long way to go between me and the “not yet.” I think the bridge to the song is my favorite part:

But I’m caught in between
The now and the not yet;
Sometimes it seems like
Forever and ever,
That I’ve been reaching to be
All that I am,
But I’m only a few steps nearer,
Yet I’m nearer….

Father, today is another day. And if I am at a 15, I have choices. I could go back to 8, or I could try to reach for 15.000001. I might only get a step nearer, yet I would be nearer. So love through me. Live through me. Speak through me. I give you glory for everything, oh, my God. Thank you for guiding me in this life. I celebrate this journey with you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen