"God’s love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, his verdicts oceanic. Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost; Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks."(Psalm 36:5-6 MSG)
Have you ever wondered what world for us, lies beyond this one?
Does our life now, in this time, on this earth, affect our life-after? Does how we live determine where we go or does who we know get us to where we need to go? But how can that be? For when we die, we die alone.
Assumably, if there is an after-time there could very likely be a correlation with the now. Wouldn't it be slightly ironic to have two 'opportunities' at life and neither have anything to do with the other? Will one be more significant in the end? Will one seem minute in comparison? Or, is it not a second life or an after life, but rather a continuation of life. Remaining in the now, but in the now here or now there.
And if there is some sort of accuracy to this way of thinking, why are we not more concerned with finding out the truth?
Eternity. Is it a place? Like an actual destination. Is it a state of being? Is it a home for our souls to rest? Is it more than a nice idea? Is there life there?
What does it mean?
Eternity. Eternal.
It sounds so romantic. Eternity. Forever and ever. A love that lasts forever. They lived happily ever after. Ever after.
We love the concept. The idea is ideal. Do you know what ideal means? It's defined as a conception of something in its perfection. An ultimate object or aim of endeavour.
Or... something that exists only in the imagination.
So which one is it?
If God is eternal (without beginning or end, always existing, timeless) and His love for us is eternal (without begining or end, always existing, timeless), how does that affect us personally, if at all? Does it mean that our souls do not have an expiration date? Can His love really keep us alive? Is it His love that gave us life in the first place? Because of this, will we enter into an infinite moment? Into eternity, continuing within the most consequential LOVE story ever heard of?
Well one thing is for sure, they do say true love lasts forever. But could it be different to what we've usually been told happens in fairy-tales? After all, this is not just another romance story between a seriously handsome prince and a hopelessly beautiful servant girl, where a frightful evil old lady tries to ruin their perfect little lives with flowers and fruit.
Its a deeper more significant love, like how parents love their children kind of love. The kind of love that turns you into a force to be reckoned with when any sort of danger or harm comes near your daughter. The kind of love where you care more about your son than yourself. The kind of love where you'd freely, willingly and desperately give up your life for them if you could. They've come from you, they're part of you, they've relied on you since day one, they even look a bit like you and in some ways they define you.
It's a sovereign and rightly possessive love between a Great King and his kingdom. Not the usual kind of kingdom, or king for that matter. No it's a kingdom that supersedes but also embraces all cultures, borders and continents. It is far beyond our human limited knowledge of every language ever spoken. It just fits into wherever it is welcomed. It doesn't seem to always make sense at first, it is often misunderstood and sometimes it appears contradictory. It doesn't use force, fear or swords to authenticate power. It grows through love, it responds with love, it answers with love, it depends on love. Kindness is its weapon, forgiveness its great strength and grace is its everlasting promise. For when you are the King and have the perspective of the whole kingdom through all its stages, in front of you, you can see the end and make the promise that assures your people everything is going to be ok...
It's about the love between God and His creation. This has been talked about and passed on from generation to generation. That's how loyal and committed His love is. It is the ultimate love story. It's also the original one. And the only story that can truely end with, "and they lived happily ever after" without making you want to roll your eyes and gag.
But we're not at the end yet. There are still many chapters to be written with several plot twists and new characters to be introduced. All the same, sometimes we just need to be reminded of how widespread and detailed the story of our world is and how vast the purposes of our God extend. Far, far, far away into the distance in a land called, Beyond My Understanding.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind." (John 1:1-4 NIV)
