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| Fisher Building, Detroit, from Wikimedia Commons {GNU} |
God
called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”
And
evening passed and morning came, marking the first day. (Gen. 1:5, NLT)
For
you, a thousand years are as a passing day,
as
brief as a few night hours.
(Ps. 90:4, NLT)
So
teach us to number our days,
That
we may gain a heart of wisdom.
(Ps. 90:12, NKJV)
When I was a little girl, we often drove
into downtown Detroit for doctor and dentist appointments. Dad pulled the car
in front of the Fisher Building, the tallest building in Detroit at the time,
and Mom and I got out. The building was only 30 stories tall, a junior
skyscraper among skyscrapers today, but when I gazed up at the tower of
concrete and marble with windows stacked floor upon floor, reaching up toward
the sky, dizziness overtook me and my heart drummed away. To my petite
personage, the height of the Fisher Building was incomprehensible.
Often when I’ve thought of the eternal
nature of God I have felt this same way. When those feelings overtake me I know I'm out ofmy league in comprehension. Faith must take over. Jesus Christ is
the Alpha and the Omega—the Trinity has no beginning and no end. Does that mean
everything is in a circle and time just repeats itself? I doubt that, but I do
believe the Lord sees time differently than we do. He invented linear time for
us, but He’s not limited by it.
As humans we like to read stories or
watch shows about time travel, because the subject is fascinating for us. What
if we could travel to the past? Could we change what we’ve done, so that
mistakes are fixed? If we traveled to the future would we really want to know
what awaits us? We’d like to know the good things, but would we be ready to
deal with the negative?
God, on the other hand, exists eternally.
He was with us in the past, He is in our present and our future. He gives us
wisdom to deal with consequences and to learn from our mistakes and He supplies
grace for the difficulties that lie ahead, when the time comes. He is infinite,
but our finite little minds can’t comprehend all of these layers at one time,
so the years of our lives are linear, numbered in days. If we ask, He will
guide us to make the best use of our time, one day at a time, in this new year of 2014.
God, on the other hand, exists eternally.
He was with us in the past, He is in our present and our future. He gives us
wisdom to deal with consequences and to learn from our mistakes and He supplies
grace for the difficulties that lie ahead, when the time comes. He is infinite,
but our finite little minds can’t comprehend all of these layers at one time,
so the years of our lives are linear, numbered in days. If we ask, He will
guide us to make the best use of our time, one day at a time, in this new year of 2014.
Father,
please give us Your wisdom and grace for the days ahead. Help us to number the
days of this year and use them in a way, which would please You. Thank you for
whatever time You’ve given us to live for You. Amen.
