Lost in time.

The sands of timeHave you ever wondered how we will possibly be able to enjoy heaven forever?  Forever seems like a really, really long time…I used to think of it as a (forgive me God) likely really boring long time.

But maybe we’re looking at it all wrong.  God invented the idea of time, so we know He lives outside of the domain and chains of time and space.

So, does this mean that there is no time in heaven? Uhm….no time?

Believe it or not, you’ve likely already experienced a glimpse of this timeless phenomenon….doing things outside the bounds of time….as though time had vanished.

Have you ever “lost track of time”?   What were you doing?

Was it when you were fishing, cooking, playing the piano, reading a great book, enjoying the company of a good friend, gardening or maybe praying?

You’ve probably looked up after one of these experiences and discovered surprisingly that 2 or perhaps 3 hours had flown by…or maybe you simply had no idea what time it was.  Your mind was not oriented toward time.  Your brain was so engaged in the thing…of being so present in whatever it was you were doing, that you tasted timelessness.

In these beautiful moments of exhileration and pleasure…for those moments, I believe we are somehow suspended from the chains of time.  I wonder if this is a glimpse of how it may be in heaven…..being so enraptured and so present to the joys, beauty, relationships and heavenly pleasures that we have no sense of time……whatsoever…..forever.

If we were to be face-to-face in the presence of the all-loving God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit, I suspect we would be so overwhelmingly full of pleasure and joy, the idea of time would be non-existent.

But, here on earth we struggle with another side of time….the realities of living in this fallen time-bound world.

Ephesians 5:16 says “take advantage of every opportunity , for the days are evil.” Other translations say “redeem the time”.

The word evil here (ponēros in Greek) means toilsome or painful.  The idea is that each day we face the unavoidable hardships and annoyances of a living in a broken and evil world.  Paul reminds us here to make the most of the time we have on earth to bring about good, since each day is filled with such toil and agony.

Life is short and we simply must become more and more open to what God desires of us each moment.

We are entrusted with time and we can choose to use it purposefully for what God wants or we can squander it on our own ambitions and goals.

I wonder if we can do both – redeem the time here on this harsh planet and experience the timelessness of living in sync with God’s Holy Spirit at the same time?

I’d like to encourage you to seek God in prayer on this point. Here it goes:

“God..what do you want me to be doing with my life…how do you want me to go about living the life you desire for me today?  

“God…please show me what it means to live connected to your Holy Spirit each moment – to lose track of time because of the joy of being with You.  Show me what to remove or change to stay better connected to Your vine.”

Thank you God for giving us life and directing our paths here on earth…may it all be for your glory.

1 comments On Lost in time.

  • It’s taken me a long time, but I’m finally getting used to asking the Lord what He’s thinking, rather than focusing solely on my own ideas. It feels so much more on target, more productive — to give my thoughts and ideas a rest and invite his. As I age, I don’t want to waste time on the old things. I want to get on with life and be as successful as I can. It’s growing on me, thanks to the patient One, sweet Spirit. So thankful for your word reinforcing this truth, Bill.

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