Time Is Relative

Psalm 39:5 (NIV) - You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.

In the verse preceding this, the psalmist asks the Lord to reveal his remaining days.

This is to remind the psalmist how fleeting his life is.

But in verse five, he acknowledges that to an eternal God, a human lifetime is very brief.

Paul, in his second letter to Corinth discusses living by faith.

2 Corinthians 4:16 (NRSVue) - So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.

True, in comparison, our mortal lives are fleeting compared to the eternal.

Even so, God does more than take a casual interest in us.

God plays an active role in our lives and transforms us along the way,

My own family history reminds me of this.

My father died at a relatively youthful age, so he had some time.

My mother, by comparison, lived to her old age and had considerably more.

My brother died in infancy, years before I was born, and so had little.

My own journey continues.

My family history reminds me that not one of us knows how much time we have in this world.

But it has taught me two lessons.

The first is to make the most of the time we do have.

The second is that God is with us throughout our lives.

Our sense of time varies.

Some days seem like they will never end.

Some years seem to evaporate too quickly.

But not a single day goes by in which God does not accompany us on our journey.

This bears repeating.

God is not just a passive observer.

God is an active participant in our lives.

Remember that God spoke to Moses like a friend (Exodus 33).

Remember Abraham believed God and was called God’s friend (James 2).

Therefore God, who accompanies us day by day, is our friend as well.

How quickly or slowly those days seem to pass to us is of little consequence by comparison.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com on Friday, January 26, 2023.

I will be back here on Friday, February 2, 2024