Author Brian McLaren claims that this is what Christians have done. We've allowed salvation to morph into a delayed gratification, postmortem thing. Yet, Jesus declared that God's Kingdom came with Him and is here now (Mark 1:15; Luke 17:21) and instructed us to pray for it to materialize "on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).
One of the questions we must continue to wrestle with is: "Just how much of God's Kingdom and life may I experience in "the nasty now and now" and how much awaits me in 'the sweet by and by? "
I don't have a clear answer, but it appears to me that what Jesus did for the weary and the wayward during the days of His earthly ministry gives us a clue. He delivered the tormented. I believe these were the mentally ill people of Jesus' day. He healed "every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people" (Matthew 4:23 NASB). He provided high quality wine for a wedding party (John 2:1-12). He fed hungry multitudes (Matthew 14:13-21). He protected people from the destructive power of the elements (Mark 4:35-41). He gave hope to those who were condemned by the religious authorities (John 8:1-11). Because Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), we know He'll do the same for us today. Because God never shows partiality (Romans 2:11), we know that what He did for one, He'd do for any.
This side of heaven, we won't have a life without temptation, strife and stress, but in the midst of it all, we can experience God's strength to resist, His peace and best of all, His presence. Though heaven will be without the worst of this life, let's not settle for less than the best that God intends for us now.
How might you experience more of this? Ask and keep on asking (Matthew 7:7-9)!