Category Archives: God’s character

Infinite Eternity

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Although math has never been my forte’, one “number” that’s always caught my fancy was the symbol for infinity: ∞

Symbol for Infinity

Maybe that’s because infinity isn’t like other numbers. It has an interesting story behind it because it isn’t anything specific but refers to an amount without limit. If something is “infinite,” one more can always be added, making the amount greater but the number, by definition, still infinity.

If one part is removed from infinity, the result is still infinity. I love that. Such crazy reasoning actually holds up in the precise world of mathematics, and there’s something captivating about that.

But does infinity have anything to do with eternity?

Eternity is something that exists outside of time and space, forever. As Christians, we’re looking forward to our eternity with God in heaven, a place that will exist out of time and space as we know them, though it will probably have its own new-fangled time and space.

As for God, he will exist there, too, but he also has existed throughout eternity past. And this is where eternity and infinity cross paths.

God existed as far back as history goes, whether that’s thousands of years or billions. Think big, and then add one more eon of time. He was alive an infinity before that. For him, the categories of past, present, and future are irrelevant. For us, it’s different.

Our past and present, though brief by the measurements of eternity, are monumentally important to us. The future, always uncertain, is cause for concern, because we wonder how it’s going to go. What will happen to us? How long will we live? What quality of life will we have? How will we die? And though Scripture describes our afterlife as worry-free, that doesn’t stop us from being concerned about our lack of knowledge about it.

Because our understanding is so limited, God offers to come close to help us. He says something like, “Although I exist outside of time and space, I also exist inside them. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to relate to you personally as I do, and that’s important to me. I always was and always will be, but I’m also in your here-and-now.”

Because of that, we can know God as our Father and Jesus as our brother, one-on-one, today, tomorrow, and every day after that. And as I’ve been thinking about how we can always add an infinite number of days to our relationship with him, such a wonder is now, and always will be, infinitely and eternally awesome.

“Before the mountains were born, before You gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, You are God.” (Psalm 90:2)

Delete that.

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When families come together over the holidays, inevitably there are picture-taking sessions. Everybody lines up, and someone gives the universal command to “Say cheeeeese!”

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Faces smile and cameras click, but when we inspect the finished product, results are mixed. Sprinkled amongst the happy poses we see faces with closed eyes, artificial smiles, goofy expressions, or strained looks. None of us are picture-perfect. Even in pictures.

We do strive for that, though, primping in front of mirrors and dressing in flattering clothes. Thinking we look pretty good, we smile for the camera with confidence, but often when we see the photo, we grimace and say, “Delete that.”

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Never being satisfied with our exteriors probably emanates from not being satisfied with our interiors. But is that good or bad? Isn’t it prideful to think we really look good? Wouldn’t it also be pompous to assume we’ve “got it all together” on the inside, too?

According to Scripture, what’s happening outside and inside are polar opposites. Proverbs 31 says that dwelling on external beauty is vain. Working on being charming is defined as downright deceitful. (v. 30)

 

Yet we insist on deleting photos of ourselves that aren’t attractive, which encourages us to play mind games about external beauty. So we don’t like what we see in our pictures, but what are we supposed to do with those feelings of inadequacy and displeasure?

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We’re to walk away from the camera and look inside instead.

What does it mean to focus on the inside? God details it for us. We’re to dwell on things that are worthy of praise, are lovely, pure, commendable, honorable, true, and just. (Philippians 4:8) If we do that, our insides will become beautiful, and something else interesting happens, too.

 

Our outsides, no matter what they physically look like, begin to take on a special attractiveness that is radiated from the inside out. We’ve all known people who are beautiful on the inside. We enjoy spending time with them and are willing to sacrifice just to be in a relationship with them. We can’t usually explain it, but we want to be around them.

Maybe that’s because they’ve taken on Christ-like characteristics inside, and after that, what they look like doesn’t matter at all. Psalm 27 tells us David found great satisfaction in “gazing upon the beauty of the Lord.” Maybe it’s a bit of His beauty that we’re recognizing as attractive within people who have their insides in order.

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External beauty disappears with age, without exception. Inner beauty has staying power. As a matter of fact, it’ll stay with us throughout eternity. So let’s not fuss over pictures we want to delete but hold up a mirror instead to what’s happening on our insides. When that becomes beautiful, the rest of ourselves will follow.

 

AFC

“Let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart… which in God’s sight is very precious.” (1 Peter 3:4)

Stepping Up

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Clog spotWhen I lived alone in my cottage, I used to put my clogs on the fireplace hearth when I wasn’t using them. The opposite of that simple picture is the one below, a line-up belonging to Hans, Katy, and their 3 young children.

 

The Line-up

Today as I studied the assortment of boots, shoes, and slippers next to my front door, my mind rushed to the word “commitment.” Having a family is a massive one, and footwear is only a small part of it. For Katy and Hans, there will soon be a pair of baby booties at the end of that long line, too, and an increased commitment to go along with it.

Having children requires making an ongoing commitment that refuses to quit. But isn’t that true with most of life’s worthwhile undertakings? To make them work, we can’t allow ourselves to give up or walk away. On this New Year’s Day, I’ve been asking myself what worthwhile commitments God wants me to make in 2013.

Scripture tells us to carefully count the cost of taking on new responsibilities, and to do so for an important reason: so that we’ll be able to do what we said we’d do. Saying yes to something without following through is to be avoided.

Jesus is our example in this, demonstrating the ultimate in follow-through. He volunteered to do the most difficult job that existed, giving his sinless life for our sins. Sticking with that commitment turned out to be excruciating for him, but he did it anyway.

My response to his example should be to accept whatever assignment he asks me to do in 2013, first counting the cost, then making plans to pay it. He won’t ask me to do what I can’t, nor will he assign me something that will swamp me. If I find that happening, the commitment I’ve taken on won’t have been from him.

But how will I be able to tell if a commitment I’m asked to make is from God or some other source? Jesus is our example in that, too. He only did what God asked him to do and nothing else, a pro at discerning what that was. So if we ask him to help us sort through our own commitment-confusion, he will.

As 2013 begins and we decide how we’re going to spend our time (whether it involves a long line of family shoes or a single pair of clogs) we should run it all past the Lord first, to get his take on it. And then once we commit, we should take it all the way…. just like he does.

The Lord says, “Even if the mountains walk away and the hills fall to pieces, my love won’t walk away from you, my covenant commitment of peace won’t fall apart.” (Isaiah 54:10, The Message)