The Lord Jesus Christ will return in person, to judge everyone, to execute God's just condemnation on those who have not repented and to receive the redeemed to eternal glory.
What we expect will happen tomorrow determines how we live today.
As Christians, we believe that all of history is heading towards one future event: the return of Christ and the renewal of all things. That shapes how we live and work now.
When Christ came into the world for the first time, He came as Saviour; when He comes a second time, He will come as judge. As both Jesus and the apostles repeatedly forewarn us, the day of Christ's return will bring hidden things to light. The state of each person's heart will be revealed, as will the quality of each person's work in this life.
What will matter on that day will not be the grades we got in our final exams, nor the accolades we received in our career - but whether we did everything for God's glory or for our own. In an industry that is obsessed with achievement and status, we'd be wise to reflect regularly on our own motives in light of the imminent coming of Christ.
Why bother if it's all going to burn?
Some in our evangelical circles might suggest that the coming judgement is a reason not to invest in science. If this world is all going to burn in the end, why bother with what's only temporary? Let's just focus on saving as many souls as possible.
While we want to affirm this zeal for evangelism, this attitude misses something about what it means to live as redeemed people waiting for Christ's return.
Rather than overriding our original calling as humanity to fill and subdue the earth, Jesus restores it. We are called to work for the good of this creation, as we wait for the new creation to come. At the final judgement, God will hold us accountable for how we used our time and gifts to serve Him and others, not just how many people we told about Jesus.
At the same time, the knowledge that Christ will return should drive us to urgency in evangelism, while respecting what is appropriate in a university or work context. Scripture calls us to submit to worldly authorities while we're under them. That means we live within the rules of our department. Unless your PI is cool with it, a lab meeting presentation probably isn't the place to preach the gospel. But in conversations with your colleagues across the bench or over lunch? Go for it (with gentleness and respect, of course)!
Science in the new creation
It's also not entirely true that science is only temporary.
As we look forward to the redemption of our bodies, we also look forward to the redemption of the whole physical creation. Sharing in the glory of the new creation there will be atoms, cells, animals, plants, mountains. What might science look like in eternity? Will there be new laws to discover? New species to meet?
Whatever our rule over creation looks like in the world to come, one thing is sure - we will enjoy God's creation in the pure delight of perfect intimacy with Him. For those of us who love to study creation now, that's something to look forward to.
