Our Eternal God

Can you imagine a being who has existed forever? Most of us can't--really. You see everything in our human experience has an end, and has a beginning. So the idea of a being who has always existed and will always exist is well. . .unimaginable. But, that's just what Genesis 1:1 suggest to us. It starts by saying "in the beginning God. . ." suggesting to us that God somehow, in some way existed before the beginning. Honestly, it's kind of mind-boggling to me.

Other verses however, go on to suggest the same. Psalm 102:12 says "But You, O LORD, shall endure forever" And, Isaiah 40:28 adds: "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, . . ." Psalm 90:2 adds to this thought: . . .Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

Ok, we're into theology again--but this one's really important. It helps us know who God is--and more importantly is He worthy of our trust? It's a clue to knowing who God is--biblically.

And why's it important to me (and to you)? Well, I'll give you some of my thoughts:

1) If God's eternal (or everlasting) that means that He's much, much bigger and more important than I am. I know my body isn't eternal--I've seen too many other people around me die to believe that. God however is eternal, meaning He at least doesn't have this human fallibility.

2) If God's eternal might it mean that He knows a bit more than I do? And, possible be more powerful than I? Might He also be a bit wiser than me? It certainly would appear so.

3) Might also the fact that He's eternal mean that He lives outside of human time? Meaning that our sense of what's fast or slow, of days, months, and years even might be different than His timetable?

I'll close with my little theology lesson today with this analogy: Let's say that today a benign master race of extraterrestrials came to earth. At first of course we'd be scared to death, but as we got to know them, and came to see that they really did have our best interest at heart, we'd get to know that they had lived much longer as a race than our race, We'd also discover that they were much, much wiser, and knew much, much more about the way things worked. (After all if they could make it here alive, and learn to communicate with us they'd probably be a bit wiser than we). Eventually, as after we got comfortable with them, we'd do everything within our power to get to know them, and to to find out what they knew--what they choose to reveal to us about themselves. How might they reveal themselves to us? Maybe by giving us an instruction manual? Something we could hold in our hand and look back at to check against any other truth presented to us? And, of course the very best way they could impart their knowledge to us would be by having a personal relationships with each one of us. Interesting concept isn't it?