Thoughts on Time

Time...have you ever wondered what life might be like in the absence of time? Now I know that is very difficult to comprehend. Our lives are governed by time. In fact, before Adam and Eve were placed into God's Garden, time had already usurped its dominion. "And God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years" (Genesis 1:14). By the fourth creative day, time had begun.

Our lives are measured by time. The very first act performed on your behalf upon birth is the recording of the time, and the last act is the recording of the time. Your life is defined by days and years - I have now lived 63 years and 75 days. (I must admit that, at times, it seems longer than that, while, at other times, it has seemed shorter). Your day-by-day life is measured by time; you eat at certain times, you sleep at certain times, your hurry off to work at certain times, your children go to school at certain times, your favorite program on television begins at a certain time, and the baseball game begins at a certain time.

The changing seasons remind us of time. Spring follows winter, only, in turn, to be followed by summer, then fall, then winter again. Again, God says this measurement of time indicates the continuance of the earth: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease" (Genesis 8:22).

Could time ever be changed? Could a day be possibly something other than a day, an hour something other than an hour? "Hardly likely," you will say. But, would not it be possible for God to "mess with" time? Of course He could! After all, He is the Creator, and the Creator can do whatever He wishes with His creation. He can take five little loaves and two little fish and feed an estimated 20,000 people with them. He can take six large pots filled with ordinary water and turn them into the finest wine ever tasted. He can summon from the grave a man who had been dead for four days.

Did God ever interfere with time? One such occurrence is found in Joshua 10:12-14: "On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: 'O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.' So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!" The miracle known as the "long day" is just that...a miracle! It defies human explanation. It transcends human understanding. It surpasses all scientific logic. But to deny that it happened is to lessen the character of God. Remember, God is the Creator of time. God is outside of time. Therefore, although He normally chooses to exercise His authority within the boundaries of His creation, there are those moments when He acts above and beyond those boundaries. And so, one day was longer than 24 hours; in fact, it was as two days. Incredible!

Time...what a world awaits us; a world outside the parameters of time as we now know them. A world with no clocks. A world with no alarms telling us it is time to.... What a day that will be!