Timeless

I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:1-8 ESV).

Today I’m a bit more philosophical than typically. As I read our text for today I began to think of the timeless nature of God. This was not merely pondering the eternal nature of God, but how he doesn’t see time like we do. Peter reminds us that to God, “one day is as 1000 years and 1000 years are as one day.” It’s another way of saying that He sees the past, present, and future all at once, for He is beyond the restraints of time. Think of that for a moment. It means we are finite. We begin, we end. God never began and never will end. He always was, is, and will be. This may be the place where you think, “So what?” Well, for one thing it means there will not be a schedule when we get to heaven; there will be no clocks, no calendars, just unlimited time. That’s a bit unsettling. Clocks and calendars give order to our lives. Additionally, we’ll never be tired. We won’t need to sleep. I suppose that’s good. However, that part of the equation is a bit beyond where I want to settle today. The real striking thing about the timelessness of God is that he’s in no hurry to finish what he started in us. He will finish it. This good work of redemption does have an end game. It is our ultimate restoration. He has shown that part of himself before. At the perfect time He became one of us. He was born; He entered history as a man right on time to show us Himself and save us from sin and offer us eternal life with Him. When I begin to reflect on my individual failures, especially the ones that seem so irrevocable, I am comforted that God’s schedule goes well beyond anything I can imagine. His calendar is already marked with the date of my “end.” And, it’s a celebration not a judgment. At just the right time he will come and get me to go and be where he is forever. That encourages me in the face of tomorrow. I pray it will do the same for you.