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Why We Struggle With Eternity

 


We are born into a world that is constrained by time. This makes us have linear perspective, with birth, life, and death. And yet our Lord Jesus tells us that death is not the end, “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) and we believe there is a paradise for us his people and perdition for those who are against Him. The realm problem though is not trusting this, its that our minds have trouble grasping eternity. Some people even have said that eternity frightens them, and they would rather cease to exist. I am going to explore why this is and why it is normal to feel this way to an extent in this life, and the provision our Lord has made for the next. 


Eternity is not something we can fathom. No beginning, no middle, and no end is as foreign to us as breathing in space or underwater. And yet the One True God has no beginning and end, and we trust Him. So why is the state of eternity so troubling to our souls? Why is it a pitfall for some even to be grafted in? It is said we use only ten percent of our brains, and that geniuses use thirteen or so percent. Concepts like no time, no end are beyond our grasp due to limits of our mental and spiritual capacities to understand, which the apostle acknowledges, “For presently we see through a glass in obscurity; but then, face to face. Presently, I know in part; but then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known: alt For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12). The Apostle admits that in this world we are looking into a mirror, and have not yet arrived to full transformation and understanding. What this means is that a time will come when we shall understand, indeed the Apostle tells us we shall know and be like God at his Appearing, “” (1 John). That is the answer! We will be able to adjust to eternity and never ending existence because we will then understand when we are changed, “Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is.” (1 John 3:2). Until then we are like people swimming in a pool, we can dive and look, but we aways have to come back up for air, when Jesus comes, we shall be like Him and that is eternal, and able to grasp and cope with eternity like someone wearing scuba gear and can breath down in depths of the ocean or in space! 


Eternity is not meant to be fully grasp and even loved till the Eternal God comes and makes us like Him and able to understand (1 John 3:2). We need a major Software Update to acclimate to the eternal mind, until that day we are in this Hardware (bodies) and we are use to linear things that have beginnings, middles, and ends. Though I find these words very helpful, 

“When a baby is in the womb, their whole world is darkness and they are fed by a tube, that is the world they know and understand, but a day comes when they are to be born into a world they do not understand, where they must breath, eat, and see light and people and etc. Death is the passage to next womb, eternity, and we will understand when we get there, just as we came to understand here from our mother’s womb.” (Norman Vincent Peale). Well said! We are in the womb of this world, and it blinds us to another world, the eternal one, through we get glimpses through visions, prayer, and God showing us with the Discerning of Spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10). 


Be patient, the eternal will make sense, things without end will make sense one day when you are changed and like our God, eternal bodies and spirits. For now be content to trust, and believe,  and look forward to the day when that aspect of existence will make sense, just like our way of living makes sense to baby after it grows older and gets to know this world. Amen. 


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