My trying to comprehend God's greatness and holiness often leaves me with the feeling that I've hit a wall. My finite being and understanding can't fully grasp his infinite existence. And I know all my knowledge is but a grain of sand on the vast endless expanse of eternal beach. But of all my "bigger" thoughts, Time intrigues me the most.
"And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day." Genesis 1:3-5
And so "it" began . . . . Time.
God creates Day and Night marking first instance of a division of time as we know it. In that moment, that great divide, Time was born. God created day and night to allow us to mark time. To measure, compare, and compute. To remember our lost depravity and look forward to our promise of purity. Prior to mankind there was no need for Time. Time doesn't harass the Omnipotent Being known as "The Great I Am" because He is always present and in present tense. Time doesn't matter in the midst of eternity. Eternity "Is". And it "is" without beginning, middle, or end. Eternity exists beyond the grasp of Time. Eternity exists before time, and time will have a short life within the expanse of forever.
Time effects Mankind and Deity differently.
Time, and all of it's markers, is inconsequential to a limitless and boundless God. However we, as humanity, are made as "linear beings". We were born into Time. We exist on earth in a measured amount of ticks and tocks. Days, hours, weeks, months, years, are all the numbers of time. Our clocks start and our clocks stop. We travel in miles per hour. And in between all that starting and stopping is measured time and events marked with dates and hours on the calendars of our lives. More often than not I find myself organizing my daily life around Time rather than the Timeless. I get anxious about time and tasks and accomplishing what needs to be done . . . . in Time.
God gives us time and linear boundaries not only to measure, but also to compare. So we can fathom, and try to comprehend His limitlessness when measured against our finiteness. It's hard to imagine an "endless day" and existence outside of time. It's difficult to imagine that instruments of time won't have to be calibrated to an Atomic Clock. That the rising and setting of a sun will have no bearing on what occurs . . . ever. I don't think there will be a setting sun in the eternal day. And if there is perhaps it will be manufactured simply for our soul's delight . . . to remember a day . . . and how Time once held us captive to this world.
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