We humans tend to think temporally, for that is our nature. We are bound by the construct of time, our memories being sequenced and filed away chronologically in our minds. To us, life is an array of circumstances that we reflect back upon. We define words like “growth” in terms of time. Even biblical terms, like “sanctification,” are used in light of this construct we know as time. There are myriad implications as a result of our being bound by time. Let’s investigate.
When we’re unsure of something, we say we lack confidence. Alternatively, we might express this as insecurity. Hold that thought and add to it the following: with time as our frame of reference, we are infinitely less wise than God since He sees the end from the beginning. In fact, it’s more accurate to describe God as transcending the construct of time.
Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; I am the first,
and I am the last.
My hand laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I call to them,
they stand forth together.
— Isaiah 48:12-13
Although it’s impossible for us to fully understand life the way God does, it helps with our confidence if we are at least able to conceive of it. For example, if we suspend our normal thinking for a moment and consider how God views life, we realize that our insecurities simply don’t exist outside the construct of time. To Him, everything that has and will happen in our lives is already perfectly known. We don’t have that insight, but He does, which is why we lack confidence but He never does.
Time is a primitive for humans that gives life context. I recently heard someone say that we don’t remember days, rather moments. These moments are nothing more than slices of time stamped with unique circumstances, making them worthy of remembrance. We reflect back on our lives the way we look through photo albums, allowing captured moments in time to sweep us away with whatever emotions are bound up in them. To God, there’s only one picture in the photo album and it contains every moment any creature has ever and will ever experience. That’s the effect on a person’s viewpoint when the construct, and therefore the context, of time is removed - everything collapses into a single viewpoint. Brain cramp, right? It’s OK, you don’t need to be God to understand the point I’m making here, thankfully.
“Time will tell” is an old proverb that we often recite when we’re unsure about our futures. We then use words like “patience” to keep our surging anticipation in check. I think in some ways, when the dam breaks and our emotions take over, we are showing our lack of trust in God. Sure, we’d like to know the outcome of certain situations before they happen, but are we really equipped to handle such knowledge? Furthermore, doesn’t time afford us the opportunity to have our faith tested? Isn’t that one of the reasons God has put it in place? Indeed, for without testing, how would we know that faith even exists? Faith, being a grace gift from God, when tested and shown to be real, brings glory to God, as Peter wrote, “so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7).
Time will tell what, exactly? Well, minimally, it tells us whether or not we have real faith.
Does God doubt what He sees in His version of the photo album? Nope. There’s only one picture, so He sees everything all at once. We, on the other hand, must flip pages and compare pictures. The “proof of [our] faith” (ala 1 Peter 1:7) exists when we look back in time and see the changes God has made in our lives and the promises that have been fulfilled. Time, then, gives us the benefit of reflection. Interestingly, what we see has been known by God all along. To summarize, when we look back, we catch glimpses of divine viewpoint; however, when we attempt to look forward, we must lean on a different faculty to maintain confidence - faith.
God has perfect faith. We don’t. Our faith increases over time, as does our confidence in the Lord.
Think back now to a time when you were completely unsure about your future. Maybe you were terribly insecure and even worrisome. From your current perspective, do you see how God delivered you from that situation? While you were riddled with doubts, God wasn’t. When your viewpoint coalesces with God’s like that (e.g., your time-bound perception catches up with God’s eternal one), your faith increases and God is glorified. Looking backwards in time like this makes sense, but looking forward adds a wrinkle to the equation, doesn’t it? Time bound creatures like ourselves cannot see the future, so we must depend upon faith alone, trusting that the One who saved us will continue to do so daily. This is where we find our confidence in Him.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
— Colossians 2:6-8
I like to say that deliverance is but a change of perspective away. Thankfully, perspective is often changed in the blink of an eye. Truth has the power to do that. In fact, Jesus said, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
When we say things like, “time will tell,” maybe we ought to finish the sentence. Time will tell us of all the wondrous things that God has known all along. Life is revelation.
Love in Christ,
Ed Collins
