Sometimes there isn’t a whole lot to say. Sometimes a profound and mind-blowing thought will just wander its way into your head. There’s no solving it, or changing it, or unthinking it.
Last night I had one of those thoughts.
It came to me while doing our nightly Bible study. There was no specific passage that brought it on, but I’ll leave some scripture at the end here to back it up.
It was a thought about life. And how miraculous the human life really is.
As humans we all have a start date, but no end date. Sure, it’s true that we will die one day. Our bodies will wear out and we will cease to exist here. But we, as mortals will never be snuffed out. Our death is only the beginning of the rest of our existence. You see, mortals are built to last an eternity. Not our bodies…no, but our souls…yes.
An eternity. That’s a never ending time frame.
So it blows my mind to think that the core of my very being had it’s start on December 28, 1986 {okay, 9 months before that even}, but my soul will never have an end date attached to it. There is no expiration date. We live on a timeline that only moves forward, on a line that goes on forever. It’s not something that we earn, or choose. It’s our design. It is this fact {yes, it’s a fact} that separates us from every other creature on earth.
Let’s move one step further. Now realizing that our souls are a very miraculous thing {that could not have been thrown together by any happy accident}, think about conception. What a miracle it is that as a woman carries a baby, not only is that being soon to be an independent being, but she is also carrying a vessel with an eternal capacity. Amazing.
What an amazing privilege to be a person. To be mortal. To be human.
So what does this knowledge mean for us? We will live on after we pass from this life. And our choices here in this world will dictate how our eternity is spent. So while we are here living the beginning of our days we must be conscious that our actions, our decisions, and our time effect more than just today or tomorrow. They will change our timelines and point our forever toward light or darkness.
Having the privilege of this knowledge changes the way we view others. This never-ending timeline business is not just for you and me. It’s true for the guy who cut you off on the road, and the lady who paid for her latte in pennies, and the best of this world, and the worst of this world. It’s true for the born, it’s true for the barely conceived, it’s true of the dying, it’s true of the unreached. Doesn’t that give you new eyes as you look upon each other? Shouldn’t this realization cause us to love each other more deeply, and swallow our pride/anxiety/fear long enough to encourage one another toward an eternity of joy?
I think so.
But like I said it’s just a thought.
Amy
PS…here are a couple verses that back up the whole “humans are eternal” thing. These are all linked to chapters or passages so that you can read them in context. There are many more verses that support the fact that humans are made for eternal life. This are just a sampling.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 {Commentary on this one here.}
