Hope For Eternity

Who doesn't want to live forever? How about people whose lives are messed up, who suffer from debilitating diseases or who have lost a life partner? Others, who have every need met, who are the picture of health and are surrounded by loving friends and family don't want life to end.

But time runs out. Or life is cut short. We must all one day face the Grim Reaper. So we shift our focus to life after life. Will there be one? Will it be better than this one? Do I have to sit on a cloud, playing a harp forever? How long is forever?

The concept of eternity has been debated for ages, from Aristotle to Augustine. Most theories involve God (or a god, or gods), existing outside of time and space as we know it. The philosophers attempt different methods of inductive reasoning and metaphysical understanding. It can become quite brain-numbing, like the following:

Time must be eternal because to refer to a time "before" time began implies that there was time before time, making the concept self-contradictory.

Huh? It makes my head hurt to read some of this stuff. I'm still amazed at how they can put me out, perform five hours of surgery, wake me up, and I have absolutely no concept of the time having passed.

Christians and scientists agree on at least one thing --- that our universe had a start. Christians say that God created it. NASA says that it exploded into being 13.7 billion years ago. (Only scientists can add a .7 to an already unbelievable number!)

We have no remembrance of anything prior to our own birth (actually later than that), and we don't have a clue as to what really happens after death. So it seems our real focus is the here and now, with a positive outlook on the hereafter. The Bible says that God has "set eternity in the hearts of men." (Eccl. 3:11).

I'm also amazed at the similarities between us humans and the animal kingdom (mammals, that is) --- with one difference. I look at my dog. He has similar body parts. Eats, drinks, sleeps, just like me. But he doesn't worry. He doesn't plot. He is always ready to greet me joyfully after five minutes, or five days. I can ascribe human emotions to him because they look similar to my own. But upon careful study, I soon learn that his "emotions" are from instinct. He doesn't hold grudges or pit me against my wife. He will sit loyally at my feet, but won't have a dialogue with me. He looks like he's thinking, but we won't be having a discussion about life. In short, his only goal is to be a dog, for this day, for this moment.

I'm beginning to realize that God wants me to be his son, for this day, for this moment. My dog was created to honor his creator by his very existence. So am I --- with one exception. I have been given a higher intelligence, one in which I can embrace or reject my creator. And my relationship to him will be bound eternally to my relationship with other humans (and how I treat my pets).

I must live for the moment, doing the things that God wants me to do, no matter how trivial they may seem to me. Like many others, I live for the weekend. Time with my wife, grown children and grandchildren. Time to unwind. I've got to change that. While those moments are precious, I must realize that every moment is precious. Appreciating life in intricate detail.

Jesus said in a prayer to his Father, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:3) Notice, he didn't say anything about length of time. That matters not to God. When you're right with him, time becomes unnecessary.

Like the billboard says: GET RIGHT WITH GOD
STEVE