The Enigma of Time and the Conundrum of Eternity

God’s glory superintends all creation, time, and eternity. His glory is a hefty thing. That’s why our lives, our time, and eternity matter so much to us. Like what happens to us once we die. God knows we fret about that. What would weigh us down should now give us hope through what we read in the Bible about the house[1] that is prepared for us in eternity.

But time is an enigma. The older I get the more reminiscent I become. The more I want to step back in time to reconnect with parts of myself that I feel could be lost. If I reflect, emotions come in, welcome ones, but hard at the same time, for they evoke memories that cannot be relived unless in the mind. They’re untouchable. I cannot go back there.

God understands. He made us.

More practically, time is enigmatic in that our perception of time affects everything we do and are. I’ve found that there are two time constants that are beneficial for my focus, and one that leads my focus astray. I must focus on the day, and the worries of the day only, and, simultaneously, maintain focus on the vision God has from a long time ago put in my sights. Those two; right up close, and so far away — years away. The constant of time that is problematic is the focus on tomorrow, next week, next month, even next year — because it busies the mind in so much conjecture. And for what? For no accurate prediction of a result at all. So there are only two time constants that bear truth: right now and the vision that directs our purpose which drives us in the present.

None of us can escape eternity. It’s coming at us, as we hurtle to it.

And it’s not just about our deaths that concerns us about eternity. It’s everyone else’s death that ensconces us there. We lose a precious loved one, and immediately we’re invested into where they went, and, because they cannot return to us, when we can return to them. We’re torn between time and eternity, because we have loved ones both here and departed. Even as we arrive in eternity there will be family and friends back in time. Then we will have to wait for them to return to us.

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We spend our time thinking about the future and we arrive in the future thinking about the past. We’re constantly fumbling with future and past. And present is simply habit.

Time is best held in the now, with purpose from vision and a definite eternal hope driving us.

Eternity overwhelms us if we think about it too much, but thankfully we have a God who has planned it all before time existed.

The enigma of time and the conundrum of eternity. Neither can we reconcile. So we give up trying and remain content to simply live while we can and not fret about what’s coming.

God gives us time to experience life and grow, and He prepares us an eternal home. Life’s best kept that simple.

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[1] John 14.