One need not look far to see the brokenness of our earthly existence. When considering what it means to expect righteousness, my initial thoughts ran along the lines of how there is a certain futility in expecting to see on earth, right now, the kind of righteousness only Jesus can bring; for all, except him, “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
What I was thinking was not incorrect – since judgment day has not yet transpired, we are still looking ahead to it, maybe longing for or dreading the day all accounts will be set straight before the throne of God. But where I missed something important was, as Madeleine L’Engle wrote in her poem, “First Coming”:
He did not wait till hearts were pure.
In joy he came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
he came, and his Light would not go out.
And, as Jeremy Riddle aptly put it:
For in a dark, cold tomb
Where our Lord was laid
One miraculous breath
And we’re forever changed
Jesus already came once. And he already descended into death once and finally, visited the disciples bodily, and returned to heaven, victorious. So, to expect righteousness is to cling to this victory Jesus has already achieved. When Jesus moved through time and space, he irrevocably altered all matter forever. The beautiful things scattered throughout our broken world really are beautiful, and we can receive the encouragement they offer. The goodness we do experience is evidence of his touch on this world – that he was here, and also that he has not abandoned it, or us. While comprehensive righteousness is something we still look ahead to, the Holy Spirit is with us in the waiting, helping us live by God’s faithfulness (Habakkuk 2:4) until the day we’ll see Jesus face to face.