25 Apr I believe
I believe in realms and ages and time before earth existed. I believe that eternity is not just endless time, but beyond time and before time, holding all of time… with every moment of the past, present and future always unfolding there.
I believe that in eternity the future already exists. I believe that prophecies and dreams breaking into time exactly as you first saw them are just the tip of the iceberg in our interaction with the mystery of reality. Though the future already exists, it does not dictate the present. I believe that God grants every present moment its own sovereignty, priceless and precious, to be worked out between Him and us.
I believe that He is for us always, no matter who we are, or how confused we are about who we are. God is always seeking us, like a rescue worker digging relentlessly and tirelessly to unearth our true self desperate to be brought into the light.
Seeing future moments as they moved toward him from eternity, Jesus often directed his disciples from the eternal vantage point.
As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?” 1
I’m being taught the difference between time and eternity. We can experience both. He will sometimes still time so that eternity comes down to engulf us in a moment yet to be. I understood this as I was reading Psalm 22, penned by the Hebrew king, David. He was describing an experience he was having, but it wasn’t him. He was being mocked, his hands and feet pierced, his bones were out of joint, his strength dried up. He thirsted. His garments were being gambled for. David was there, experiencing every nuance of the moment. It was so profoundly overpowering that he recorded every detail, having no idea that eternity had engulfed him in a moment yet to be… a moment that would enter time a thousand years later in the life of one who would be called, the son of David.
I believe that reality is indescribably more poignant, poetic, powerful and mysterious than we can ever imagine.
On a solo September cross-country drive, preparing for the next chapter of my life, there was a brief moment when time stilled and eternity engulfed me. I heard, “Be present to the moment.” We live in time. Our lives unfold linearly, one moment after another. And the present moment is the only place where we can encounter Him who inhabits eternity. Only as I am present to the moment, can He be to me and do for me all that He wants to.
Scripture tells us that our days were all written before any of them was. (Psalm 139:16) But I believe there are undetermined:shades to our destiny: stronger or weaker, darker or lighter… according to how we listen and obey. We have to contend for our destiny against a fallen host who want to replace God and cancel us with their own false narrative. But we move in faith over fear, as we keep our eyes on God’s majesty and might.
God’s plan for earth, for time and for each one of us is fulfilled as it moves out of eternity into time, one moment at a time, in the poignantly powerful, hidden mystery of God quietly doing what He has said He will. With their backs against the sea, and Pharaoh’s army bearing down on them, Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today … Exodus 14:13
I believe.
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1 Zechariah 9:9–13; Matthew 21:1–11; Mark 11:1–11; John 12:12–19 Luke 19:29-33