Eternal Perspectives

Stop and think for a moment about all the things you think matter: what is important in your life. What things are mountains, and what things are molehills. What trivial little incidents have you turned into monumental catastrophes. What personal disasters have you created because you lack perspective.

Most of what we worry and fret about, most of what we get upset about, does not really matter. Temporary circumstances and inconsequential events which loom large in our rear view mirrors and hover with menace on our horizons.

We've all got problems: some worse than others, but we're all struggling now, or have struggled, or will struggle with something. People and situations. In our personal loves and in our working lives. Life is a bit of a battle. There's no escaping suffering.

How do we get through it all? I don't know about you, but what helps me is having an eternal perspective.

Romans 8:16 says "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us."

One day all suffering and sorrow will end, and that will be a very good day indeed.

Eternity

It is not possible for finite minds to comprehend the infinite. We can imagine it or try to imagine it, and depending on how good our imaginations are, we may scratch the surface of the reality, but we can never truly grasp the infinite. Let's look at a concept like eternity for example. Eternity is a long time time right? Eternity is forever. I know you are reading this and saying, 'Duh! Of course eternity is forever," but have you ever really thought about it? Eternity is not just a long time, it is actually timelessness. What is timelessness? What does it look like? How does it work? 

I have no idea because I, like you and everybody else on this planet, was born at a certain time in the past and I have been progressing through time at the rate of twenty four hours a day towards an unknown date in the future at which point my physical body will expire. I will carry on this journey that we call life, irrespective of what happens to me - agony, ecstasy or monotony- until my time is over.

At this point of the discussion, disputes about life after death typically arise. Some people believe that physical expiration is ultimate termination. When you're dead, you're dead. Others, in fact the majority I would argue without fear of being contradicted, believe in the immortality of the soul. Various religious traditions suggest different manifestations of this afterlife, but essentially all accept the notion that there is life after death. Some sort of heaven for the good, and some kind of hell for the bad. That is far too simplistic, but this is a blog not a book.

Presumably when people who don't believe in any sort of after life talk about "forever" they just mean "until they die." We fall in love and it is forever. We are always waiting forever for things to happen, or for something to end. We say we'll never do this or we'll never do that. His name, her deeds etcetera will be remembered forever. Forever?

Yesterday, I waited forever for the referee to blow full time so that we could hold on for a draw against the more highly rated team we were playing, and then towards the end of forever we snagged a brilliant goal to win. That match concluded about 16 hours ago which feels like forever.

This thing called life which some of us think lasts forever, will be over in the twinkling of an eye. It goes too fast for us to properly enjoy it or even understand it. If you want to hold to that view of forever - the short, over in the blink of an eye view - be my guest but I would invite you to think, to really think about timelessness because if this blur on history which is my life is only about the years I spend on earth wrapped in this mortal coil, then I cannot see the point. There must be more. Don't you think?

Photo sources
http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/stevereads/2014/06/notes-for-a-star-trek-bibliography-the-city-on-the-edge-of-forever/
http://www.kansascitybob.com/2013/07/purgatory-twitter-and-timelessness.html