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the eternal now


waking up this morning i opened my window and suddenly my room brimmed with life. the sun danced on the walls, the song of the birds provided the musical score, and the crisp February air shocked my senses into the realization that i was, in fact, once again face-to-face with consciousness.

it is reminiscent of when i was but a wee lad... springtime on the Island. each day i would leap from my bed, filled with joy at the prospect of setting free tiny rivers to flow without restraint while the world around me brimmed with its Creator's goodness. i would fall in love with a simple blade of grass and there, for a moment, not even Solomon in all his splendor could compare to this magnificent creation.

in jaded hindsight, it all almost sounds absurd. what i wouldn't give some days, though, to become that boy who was me in order to experience life without limits again.

it's not life that has changed. each moment is bursting with a vividness that only God can comprehend, a potency that goes beyond any self-absorbed pathos.

the Greeks sought immortality in their thoughts. in a way they attained it; that is, their names and their thoughts attained immortality. however, they, as individuals, are very dead. Moderns realize the dissatisfaction of an unenjoyable post-life, so they scramble to obtain temporal material possessions... until they lose their possessions and die just like the Greeks. we all seek immortality.

it's only in Christ that eternal now is fulfilled. only Christ destroys the time-eternity barrier and unites materiality and the transcendent. in Him we are called to an unfathomable optimism in each moment of existence - that right here, right now, in more ways than i could ever imagine, in more places than i could ever be, God is orchestrating His perfect symphony. it is by Christ that we are told "whatever you do for the least of these brothers..." and "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life." this moment has an eternal significance. not only can we examine each moment in light of eternity, but in each 'now' there is an eternal dimension. possessed by an infinite God, each moment is an eternity - is our eternity.

truly God has made everything beautiful in its time, and has set eternity in the hearts of men (Ecc 3:11). seize today to praise Him that we are able to participate in eternal life through His Son (Jn 3:36). not a single moment of this life that we live is experienced in vain.
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Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi Keith, enjoyed the Feb. 17 blog. Can I quote two paragraphs for a perfect ending for this week's sermon? i.e.:
"the Greeks sought immortality in their thoughts. in a way they attained it; that is, their names and their thoughts attained immortality. however, they, as individuals, are 100% dead. Moderns realize the dissatisfaction of an unenjoyable post-life, so they scramble to obtain temporal material possessions... until they lose their possessions and die just like the Greeks.
we all seek immortality. it's only in Christ, though, that we are justified in our belief in the eternal now. only Christ destroys the time-eternity barrier and unites materiality and metaphysics. in Him we are called to an unfathomable optimism in each moment of existence - that right here, right now, in more ways than i could ever imagine, in more places than i could ever be, God is orchestrating His perfect symphony. "

Please & thanks, Dad
2/17/2005 06:52:00 PM
Keith Dow said…
I'd be honored if you did, dad.
2/17/2005 07:16:00 PM
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