Prodigal Magazine » God

Q&A – What is God’s relationship to time?

Jason Wenell — Thu, 20 May 2010 15:46:19 +0000

Answer: We live in a physical world with its four known space-time dimensions of length, width, height (or depth) and time. However, God dwells in a different dimension—the spirit realm—beyond the perception of our physical senses. It’s not that God isn’t real; it’s a matter of His not being limited by the physical laws and dimensions that govern our world (Isaiah 57:15). Knowing that “God is spirit” (John 4:24), what is His relationship to time?

In Psalm 90:4, Moses used a simple yet profound analogy in describing the timelessness of God: “For a thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.” The eternity of God is contrasted with the temporality of man. Our lives are but short and frail, but God does not weaken or fail with the passage of time.

In a sense, the marking of time is irrelevant to God because He transcends it. Peter, in 2 Peter 3:8, cautioned his readers not to let this one critical fact escape their notice—that God’s perspective on time is far different from mankind’s (Psalm 102:12, 24-27). The Lord does not count time as we do. He is above and outside of the sphere of time. God sees all of eternity’s past and eternity’s future. The time that passes on earth is of no consequence from God’s timeless perspective. A second is no different from an eon; a billion years pass like seconds to the eternal God.

Though we cannot possibly comprehend this idea of eternity or the timelessness of God, we in our finite minds try to confine an infinite God to our time schedule. Those who foolishly demand that God operate according to their time frame ignore the fact that He is the “High and Lofty One . . . who lives forever” (Isaiah 57:15). This description of God is far removed from man’s condition: “The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10).

Again, because of our finite minds, we can only grasp the concept of God’s timeless existence in part. And in so doing, we describe Him as a God without a beginning or end, eternal, infinite, everlasting, etc. Psalm 90:2 declares, “From everlasting to everlasting You are God” (see also Psalm 93:2). He always was and always will be.

So, what is time? To put it simply, time is duration. Our clocks mark change or, more precisely, our timepieces are benchmarks of change that indicate the passage of time. We could say, then, that time is a necessary precondition for change and change is a sufficient condition to establish the passage of time. In other words, whenever there’s change of any kind we know that time has passed. We see this as we go through life, as we age. And we cannot recover the minutes that have passed by.

Additionally, the science of physics tells us that time is a property resulting from the existence of matter. As such, time exists when matter exists. But God is not matter; God, in fact, created matter. The bottom line is this: time began when God created the universe. Before that, God was simply existing. Since there was no matter, and because God does not change, time had no existence and therefore no meaning, no relation to Him.

And this brings us to the meaning of the word “eternity.” “Eternity” is a term used to express the concept of something that has no end and/or no beginning. God has no beginning or end. He is outside the realm of time. Eternity is not something that can be absolutely related to God. God is even beyond eternity.

Scripture reveals that God lives outside the bounds of time as we know it (Isaiah 57:15). Our destiny was planned “before the beginning of time” (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2) and “before the creation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:20). “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews 11:3). In other words, the physical universe we see, hear, feel and experience was created not from existing matter, but from a source independent of the physical dimensions we can perceive.

“God is spirit” (John 4:24), and, correspondingly, God is timeless rather than being eternally in time or being beyond time. Time was simply created by God as a limited part of His creation for accommodating the workings of His purpose in His disposable universe (see 2 Peter 3:10-12).

Upon the completion of His creation activity, including the creation of time, what did God conclude? “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Gen 1:31). Indeed, God is spirit in the realm of timelessness, rather than flesh in the sphere of time.

As believers, we have a deep sense of comfort knowing that God, though timeless and eternal, is in time with us right now; He is not unreachably transcendent, but right here in this moment with us. And because He’s in this moment, He can respond to our needs and prayers.

Recommended Resource: Knowing God by J.I. Packer.

from partner site Gotquestions.org

God, are You ignoring me?

eankenman — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:31:41 +0000

There are a lot of things in life that I don’t know, and each day I discover brand new reasons that I’m not as smart as I thought. However, one thing that I have learned in 30 years of life and 3 years of marriage is what a conversation looks like.

One person talks while the other listens, and then they switch places. Pretty straightforward, really.

Except when it comes to God.

I’ve discovered that when it comes to talking with God, all bets are off. In case you hadn’t picked up on it, prayer is a bit of a struggle for me. At best, I end up feeling like God’s half listening—like He’s on the line, but He’s also balancing the checkbook and making some mac-and-cheese at the same time.

As you can imagine, it doesn’t do much for my motivation to pray.

Needless to say, I have difficulty balancing these feelings with the Biblical picture of God as a loving, caring god who listens and responds. I read Psalm 13, and I’m totally on board with verses 1-4. When David says things like, “Will you forget me forever?” I’m right there with him. When he says, “How long will you hide your face from me?” I feel the pain. I know that feeling.

Yet when I get down to verses 5 and 6, David makes a turn that I’m not always prepared for.

He says, “But I trust in your unfailing love…I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.”

Say what?

How in the world do you go from being ticked off at God, asking if He’s going to forget you forever, to three verses later saying that God has been good to you? How do you go from feeling like God’s ignoring you to saying He’s been good to you?

My experience has been that if you are in a relationship where someone’s ignoring you, and you take that as him or her being “good to you,” then there’s some serious dysfunctional junk going on. You don’t really hear that depiction too often—“King David the Enabler.” That image doesn’t work too well for your average sermon.

So how do I understand this apparent contradiction?

By no means would I consider myself an expert in this arena, but I have learned a few lessons in the course of my struggle. To begin with, I have had to come to blunt (and often painful) terms with the fact that any sin in my life is a direct barrier to communication with God. Obviously this doesn’t mean that if I have sinned at all then God won’t talk to me—Jesus’ life and death would have been pointless in that case. Yet just as with any other relationship, if I am consistently giving in to my selfishness and desire to disobey, then there is going to be a relational breakdown.

But if it isn’t a sin issue, what then?

First, I’ve had to look at my motives. Due to my own stupidity and disobedience, I am very familiar with the feeling of being disconnected from God. But to be perfectly honest, it is really easy to take my own laziness or bad mood and label it as “God’s not listening.” I have had to ask myself, “Am I just seeking some kind of warm, fuzzy feeling and defining that as God’s presence?” In moments like these, it is entirely possible that God is challenging us out of our comfort zone, past the feelings that we have known and experienced, and into a deeper level of understanding and connection with him. However, in order for that to happen, many times He must first break our dependency on the ways that we have understood him in the past.

Second, I have also had to learn (once again—it’s an ongoing lesson) that I am not in charge. In the midst of an “always-on,” instant gratification society, I tend to want instant answers to my questions and immediate solutions to my problems. As a result, I become guilty of desiring what God can do for me rather than actually desiring God Himself. In such a mindset, unanswered prayers move beyond disappointment into a crisis of faith. Yet as I look through the Bible at the history of God’s followers, there is a long list of moments when God doesn’t seem to be paying attention or holding up his end of the deal. All too often we forget that there is much more to the picture than we can see; for many of us, even our own past history demonstrates that God is worthy of our trust. Yet this is where we often end up, raging in frustration about the silence or hardship that God is using to make us seek him.

Finally, I’ve had to learn to lean on the faith of others. Growing up in a society that prizes individuality and self-reliance has caused me to be very hesitant about being dependent on others—and I don’t think I’m alone in this. But even from the very beginning, God said that it is “not good for man to be alone.” It is particularly ironic that so many of us who are on this journey of following God end up isolated and disconnected, wondering why God has abandoned us. In spite of our feelings, He is standing there saying to us, “You came to know me initially because of the faith of someone else—why then should it surprise you that you would need the faith of others to continue this journey?” If we find ourselves experiencing silence from God, one of the easiest ways to find solace is in the encouragement of others (most of whom probably have similar experiences!).

In the end, I have started to learn that these moments of silence are not truly silences at all—they are moments where God is challenging me to a new level of faith and trust in him. It is much like our actual first steps—we challenge a young child to walk longer and longer distances as they are taking their first steps, knowing that this challenge will enable them to enjoy a richness of life that would otherwise be impossible. In the same way, God refuses to allow us to remain stationary infants; he challenges us (by whatever means necessary) to lay aside our childish conceptions of Him and our selfish demands for his intervention. Through periods of silence, He challenges us to deeper levels of maturity and relationship. He challenges us to seek him.

Overly Familiar

Dwilliams — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:56:47 +0000

Mark 1:40 – 41…..A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”

I find myself often speaking to Him in the imperative when I pray:

“Lord, help me.”

“Lord, make this right.”

“Lord, forgive me.”

As I filter these requests through the leper’s approach, they suddenly sound more like commands to me. I wonder how they feel to Jesus?

These words come from years of familiarity with Jesus. Familiarity is supposed to be a good thing. It should feel like a great shirt that you would never get rid of, even though it has holes in it and the color faded about a thousand washes ago. I’ve known Him since childhood. But the problem begins when my reliance upon Him degenerates to a degree of expectation.

In a new relationship you don’t know what to expect. So, everything comes as a request. Would you like to go to a concert? Can we have a cup of coffee? Will you talk a walk with me? The sense that your new friend exists as an autonomous creature sits strong with you.

In time, we tend to allow this “newness” to wear off and, without realizing it, become obligatory in our approach.

A growing relationship can grind to a standstill when you become too familiar. People like being new. They want to receive an invitation, not a list of requirements.

The Gospels tell stories that show this dynamic between Jesus and His disciples. He would say something and their response, though innocent, came across as rude, abrasive, and commanding.

Jesus told them once that He would be persecuted soon and then die. Peter responded, “Not if I can help it.” To which Jesus snapped back, “Get behind me, Satan!” Ouch.

Jesus understood where Peter’s words had come from. He knew that Peter loved Him deeply. He heard the fear and dependence in what Peter had said. So, why did He give such a sharp reply?

Maybe he said it to dislodge Peter out of over-familiarity with Him. Of course, Peter would never have expected the Lord to call him an adversary. Jesus was showing Peter by his command how Peter had sounded to Him.

That’s why it’s so sweet when this leper comes to Him with no expectations. He knows Jesus has the ability to chase away this disease forever, but he knows better than to demand a cure. You can see the respect that flows through his approach.

Though Jesus knows my heart, I know I’ve been rude. I want to treat Him with the newness He deserves. I want to speak in requests and not imperatives.

How about you – have you stopped long enough to hear how you address the Lord in your prayers? Maybe you have become overly-familiar with Him?

Let Him remain new.

Kanye, Pinocchio and Perspective

Jason Wenell — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:53:14 +0000

My wife and I were recently having a discussion on perspective. Why does it seem like we are always striving for something just out of reach? Why are we looking to do the next thing, travel to the next place, buy the next gadget? What is it about the human condition that feeds the rat race mentality? Is it the marketing society we live in? ” If you have this new dish detergent, your life will be complete and clean” Is it the MTV effect? We see all the movie stars and the rock stars and want our own minute of fame. This discussion reminded me of the bonus track on the new Kanye West cd entitled “Pinocchio’s story” which he performed in Singapore. I love the transparency of this track, as Kanye talks about being on the other side. He should have everything. Money, cars, talent, women….and yet he wants what he can’t have. He wants to live the normal life again. This goes to show, we are all trying to fill this void. The rich, the poor, the suburban housewife and the british rockstar. The truth is that the only thing that can fill this void is God. Our human nature is searching for our own Gepetto, our creator. We yearn to be reunited. Check out the lyrics, they are pretty powerful.

Wise man say, wise man say
Wise man say
You’ll never figure out real love
Never figure out real love
You’ll never figure out real love
It’s so crazy, crazy crazy
I got everything figured out
But for some reason I can never find what real love is about
No doubt
Everything in the world figured out
But I can never seem to find what real love was about
Do you think I sacrifice, real life
For all the fame, and flashing lights
Do you think I sacrifice, a real life
For all the fame, and flashing lights
There is no Gucci I can buy
There is no Louis Vuitton to put on
There is no {?} that they could sell
To get my heart, out of this hell
And my mind, out of this jail
There is no clothes that I could buy
That could turn, back in time
There is no vacation spot I could fly
That could bring back, a piece of real life
Real life, what does it feel like?
I ask you tonight, I ask you tonight
What does it feel like, I ask you tonight
To live a real life
I just wanna be a real boy
They always say “Kanye, he keeps it real boy”
Pinocchio’s story is, I just wanna be a real boy
Pinocchio’s story goes, to be a real boy
It’s funny
Pinocchio, lied, and that’s what kept him from it
I tell the truth, and I keep runnin (runnin)
It’s like I’m lookin for something out there, tryin to find something
I turn on the TV, and see me, and see nothin (nothin)
What does it feel like, to live real life, to be real
Not some put side on TV that no one can really feel
Do you really have the stamina?
For everybody that sees you that say, “Where’s my camera?”
For everybody that sees you, to say sign a autograph
For everybody that sees you cry, and say you oughta laugh
You oughta laugh!
I just wanna be a real boy
Pinocchio’s story goes, I just wanna be a real boy
Pinocchio’s story goes
And there is no Gepetto, to guide me
No one, right beside me
The only one, was behind me
I can’t find her no more, I can’t follow no more
I can’t…
The only one that come out on the tour and stays
Back when I was livin at home and this was all a big dream
And the fame will be get got
And the day I moved to L.A., maybe that was all my fault
All my fault to be a real boy, chasin the American dream
Chasin everything we seen, up on the TV screen
And when uh, the Benz was left, and the clothes was left
And the hoes was left, you talk the hoes to death
Peepin the money to death, you spend the dough to death
And tell me what be left, for a real boy!
They say “Kanye, you keep it too real boy”
Perspective, and wise man say
One day, you’ll find your way
The wise man say, you’ll find your way
The wise man say, you’ll find your way
Wise man say

ANTICIPATION – Asking God for a wife

pfraedrich — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:31:03 +0000

I am a twenty-two year old college student who is somewhat socially awkward and I’m still trying to figure myself out in many ways. One thing I do know, however, is that I tend to over-think things just a wee bit too much. Recently, one of those over-thought topics has been marriage.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “you’re only twenty-two years old, what in the world are you doing thinking about marriage?” Well…you have a point. Regardless, the point of this isn’t why I was thinking about it, but what I was thinking about it.

Good old chivalrous tradition states that the man (myself in this case), if he intends to marry a woman, should first ask for her hand in marriage from her father. This tradition has slowly died with time, but there are a few of us who still hold to a lot of the “old-fashioned” ways. (Personally, I think asking her father is going to be a lot more intimidating than asking her. If you don’t know if she wants to marry you, don’t ask yet…it should be obvious what her answer is going to be.) Asking the father is more than just asking him to give away his daughter, it is asking for his blessing as well (blessing by a parent, yet another dead good tradition).

In thinking about all of this, I realized something: as a Christian, God is your father. Not just your father either, He is also your love’s father. If we, as humans, ask for the blessing of a human being (who is not able to wield any kind of supernatural blessing-power); should we not ask the blessing of our heavenly Father, the creator of the universe, first before all others? This requesting of God for His blessing and for the hand of the woman in marriage (because, ultimately, she belongs to God just as everything else does) should not be an event characterized by sheepish asking or sly wordplay — it should be an occasion of joy and of peace.

I think my absolute favorite illustration of God in a way our human minds can grasp is one of a little child. We are the small children, exuberant and joyful, walking through a store (aka, life with all its amusements and paths and distractions). When a little child, walking through a store like a Wal-Mart or a Target, sees a toy or something he/she wants, what do they do? They run and grab it and come running back to their parents. Sometimes they just throw it in the cart and don’t even ask, expecting their parents just to buy it for them. Sometimes they stand there, in euphoric excitement, and entreat their parents to buy the toy or whatever it is. At that point, the child is filled and is bouncing with expectation, happiness, joy, and the daydreaming of what life would be like with that item. The child’s parents, because they love their child, want to give him everything he asks for and then some. But because they love their child, they cannot. More often than not, the parents tell their child “no” — dashing the hopes of the child on the cruel rocks of reality — because it is not in the will of the parents. But sometimes, when it is in the will of the parents, they will say “yes”. At that moment, the child’s sense of happiness — that euphoria — instantly doubles, despite seeming to have already been at a peak. For the rest of the day / week / month / etc, life is good for that child because he or she got that certain toy.

It should be the same way with marriage. When we [guys] fall in love with the woman of our dreams, we should go running to God (that is not to say the relationship up to that point has been without prayer and study of the Bible, but rather I am denoting a turning point in the personally spiritual side of that relationship), face full of smiles and heart full of joyous expectation, asking, “God, can I keep her?!?!”. We should run to God, our loving Father, and ask for our heart’s desire. God is not a mean, cold or cruel God. He is a God of love, and a Father that loves to see His children happy and full of joy. Read what Zephaniah 3:17 says:
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
God delights in you! How utterly mind-blowing is it to think about the God of the universe singing joyfully over his children?

Psalm 37:4 says that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, then he will give us the desires of our hearts. Read that phrase again, the desires of our hearts. He wants to give us what we want and what will make us happy! So many people, in an attempt to become all-powerfully non-self-centered completely deny themselves happiness and only seek what God wants…but God also wants to give us what we want!. If we, as children of God, follow after Him and find our delight in Him, He will give us what our hearts most desperately desire. For the man completely in love with a woman, that desire is to be with her the rest of his life. If she is truly what his heart desires, and if she is good and perfect for him, then God wants to give her to him! God takes pleasure in giving to his children! There are many, many verses in the Bible that deal with God giving, and there is a reason for that: God loves to give to us! James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Notice the words “good” and “perfect”. Those words are descriptors of the gift, but they are also conditions. What we ask for of God MUST be good and perfect, in and of itself and for us. Luke 11:9-13 says:
So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
Jesus flat-out tells us to ask God for whatever we desire. No secret language or convoluted wording, just regular, plain and in your face. “Ask and it will be given to you…” is so simple. Ask, and you will receive.

God wants to give us our deepest, most desperate, and most fulfilling desires contained in our hearts; all we have to do is ask. If they be good and perfect, and good and perfect for us, then He will give them to us. Do not be afraid to be like that child in the store, asking his parents for something. If you want to marry the love of your life, run to God. Don’t walk, don’t be timid, and don’t be shy. Hebrews 4:16 says we should “…approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” We need not cover our faces or cower in fear and shame before God, but rather come to Him as sons and daughters, righteous before Him, full of smiles, giddy with anticipation, and with all joy and happiness in our hearts. God is our father, we are His children and He delights in us and in giving us what we ask because He loves us. So ask.

I know I will.