Our Lenten Journey... Eternity

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So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
~ Isaiah 41:10

We are a people who live by the calendar.  Our seasons, even the day that we are born, are marked on a calendar.  We spend time planning schedules that are often so tight, that I have even heard of people scheduling how many hours a day they get to sleep.

I have often wondered what will become of people who have lived by such a full schedule when they die?  Is there an Eternity 101 class that every incoming member of heaven must take?

Let's face it, we live according to the time the sun rises, sets, and the clock on the wall.

All of which are a human construct in order for us to know when to do many things, and to guide our days.

While Lent is a journey with a beginning and ending, the God that we focus on has been living eternally.

I once had a young child in one of my youth groups ask me who God's parents were?  Let's face it, I think all of as one point or another have tried to embrace the idea that God just always has existed.  

How is that possible?  

Being a visual person, I would love to see a timeline of what eternity looks like!  Why can't we just pull up a calendar from over the years and point to a day and say, "So this is the day God was born.  Here is when God first thought of saying, 'let there be light', and this is the day that God created the first human being and decided it was all good."

While I struggle to understand eternity, or a place where there is harmony always, filled with the sounds of "Hallelujah" for all time, I am held to a mindset that I only have the present.

Our journey with God has always been.  Scripture reminds us that God "knew us" even when we were in our mother's womb.  How amazing to think that our God has always been with us!  Not just prior to our first breath, but through every moment.

While for some that may be hard to understand, especially if bad times, poor health, or a number of other things that can often leave us broken, our significance in the eyes of the Creator remains.

Today as we journey, may the idea of eternity enter our daily life, and the knowledge that God will be with us always.

Stay in God's grip!

G. Todd Williams (c) 2017

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Dear God, in our search to understand eternity, may Your presence be felt always.  Amen.

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