We live in a world that is more time-conscious than ever before. However, as technology has enabled us to do things faster, that has resulted in us getting busier rather than allowing us more room. Now in one lifetime there is a greater scope to change the world. But there is also a danger of getting completely lost in the clutter of time.
Out of this, there has been a growing understanding about how time is our most limiting factor. It is no longer distance, demographic or any form of disability. But no one can escape time. It is both our most valuable commodity and the greatest judge of our impact, which draws me to question – why does time exist? What was God’s intention in creating time?
There are a few factors to consider when it comes to this question:
God is outside of time.
In the Bible it says that God existed before the creation of day and night. That would mean that God’s perspective is not tied to the limitation of time. When we engage with God on a personal level, we are actually connecting with a God who has not aged. All the greats of history – Martin Luther to Martin Luther King Jr. – were under the exact same God that we can connect with today.
God uses time.
Everything created has been made to be seasonal. Whether it’s the plants on the highway or a stage of development in your intelligence, time is a way for God to grow, develop and communicate with the world. Have you ever been in a season where you have been waiting for something to happen and it just feels like there is no direction or end in sight? How much have you learnt about yourself and the world around you in that season? Without time we would not be able to learn. We would have no opportunity to become wise. We would have no opportunity to know the details of God.
Time is God’s way of relating to us.
In scripture there is an excerpt that says “no eye can see, no ear can hear, no mind can fathom the greatness of our God”. I believe God has spaced out life according to time so that humanity is able to truly learn about the nature of God. History has enabled us to see a God who is as fair as he is kind, as powerful as he is merciful, as vengeful as he is peaceful. The intricacies of his nature will never be clearly understood by one person. But as different generations connect with God in their unique situations in their specific ways, God can share himself with the world.
Time will end.
The Bible also clearly speaks of eternity. It is a frame of existence that is endless. Every soul that has ever lived will continue past the barrier of time. But it is the state in which that soul finds itself when time ends that will continue forever. While there are still seconds on the clock, there is opportunity to change – to grow, to decide, to question. This state of being in time is the greatest gift God could have given us – the chance to wrestle with our beliefs and to determine whether we want to have a relationship with Him.
God sees you. Both within time and outside of it. He sees all of your past and your possible futures as well. But you still have the free will to choose whether or not you want to accept God. He is after a relationship with you – one that is reciprocated from free will. His love for you is unquestionable. His intention for your existence is defined and clear. But you exist within the construct of time so that you can decide whether you want to accept those things and offer your life back to Him. If you feel like you would like to do so right now, click on the link below. It would be the best use of your time.