Master Mentor #26

Chapter 25 (Book 4, Chapter 3)
CS tackles one of those mind-numbing thoughts in today’s reading. He talks about God and His relationship to time. His argument is that God is above and outside of the “time element” that we understand. He says, “Almost certainly God is not in Time. His life does not consist of moments following one another. If a million people are praying to Him at ten-thirty tonight, He need not listen to them all in that one little snippet that we call ten-thirty. Ten-thirty – and every other moment from the beginning of the world – is always Present for Him” (page 147).

What an incredibly complicated idea to grasp!!!

We are such a time driven culture. Even as I write this, I look and time is staring me in the face. There is a clock in the upper-right hand corner of my computer. If I look hard enough and catch the right angle, without moving I can see what time it is on my watch on my left wrist. Time is on my cell phone and the little calendar reminds me of upcoming special appointments that I have asked it to remind me of. There are two clocks in my office and 8 or 10 clocks of one form or another (VCR, TV, wall, alarm clocks) in our apartment. Even on my day-off, I am still thinking about the clock and making sure that I get everything done that needs to be done when it needs to be done. It is such a difficult concept to grasp the thought that we are so time-driven, but God is outside of the time equation.

In many respects, it’s an appealing thought. To think that God is not driven by the same stressful ticking that is occurring in my life. That God has time to think about each happening without being constrained by the thought that time is moving and ‘you’re wasting it.’ That is an incredible thought.

But the clock in all respects is part of our life. It’s part of who we are… although maybe not all of us. (I have a missionary friend in Africa and the clock is not nearly a part of his life as it is of mine. In fact, I would say that I have a better idea of what time of the day it is for him as he does.) I’m sure there are parts of the world where time is not an issue… simply the idea of whether it’s light outside or not and how close we are one way or the other.

As I sit and ramble… somewhat… it is such an incredible thought to think that God is outside of the time equation when we are so tightly bound up in it.

Jim