How we see ourselves in the context of eternity can either leave us with a sense of insignificance or with a sense of awe at the beauty and value of our lives far beyond the confines of our time on earth. If our lives had no greater meaning than the few decades we are alive, then a sense of utter insignificance would be the only rational response ... but there is something of eternal significance in man.
One of the first concepts I was taught in art was ‘perspective’. The connections between objects, the distances between them and the particular point of view all contribute to a unique perspective. I soon learnt that one point of view can hide the beauty in a scene, while another can reveal it. Nowhere is perspective more important than when we look at ourselves. Identity can be defined as an individual’s comprehension of him or herself as a separate entity.
In practical terms this means that people tend to see themselves within the context of certain cultures, races and social settings to mention but a few of the broader influences. Language and location can have a profound effect on people’s view of themselves. There are obviously more personal influences such as relationships with friends and family, not to mention the effect that personal experience has upon us. The list goes on and on - we find security in seeing ourselves in the context of something familiar.
It’s in the midst of this that Jesus reveals a dimension, a context called eternity, so broad and so different that it totally disorientates us. Every temporal reference we use to locate and identify ourselves is challenged by the revelation Christ brings. In fact He plainly says that unless we lose our lives - lose our sense of identity - we will never find our true identity. In Jesus we encounter a new context to our lives - a perspective in which the distance that we believed to be between us and God, is cancelled.
Eternity dwarfs both our greatest achievements and deepest disappointments to minuscule size. Yet despite the seeming meaninglessness of our lives when placed in this context it also reveals our true value, for there is a part of us which is not temporal. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, without which man cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (Eccl 3:11 LIT) God has placed eternity in our hearts so that we can have access into realms beyond the here and now, beyond the temporal, beyond the material. Because we are eternal beings, questions regarding eternity stir within us. He is not offended when we ask about these great mysteries - He placed those questions in our hearts so that we would seek and find. These questions are in-built invitations from our eternal Origin to reach into the spirit realm and find Him there.
Narrowness of experience
Another aspect of perspective is that one can get so close to an object, that it obscures one’s view from all else. For many, personal experience has become the ultimate authority and measure of truth - it is the only thing they’ll believe or place any confidence in. But there are few things that can skew our perspective more than personal experience. Let me explain:
In my early childhood - I was about five years old - we moved into a new house. Most of these houses in South Africa had big back yards and these made ideal playgrounds for small boys. We called it a ‘yard’ instead of a garden because it wasn’t really a neatly kept garden - it was more like a large enclosure. On the day we moved in I noticed something very tempting: the neighbour had a small orchard of mango trees in his back yard ... and I loved mangoes. My dad must have read my thoughts because at the moment I noticed these trees, he said to me: “Don’t even think of going into the neighbour’s yard - there is a vicious dog guarding the trees”. That was a very disappointing piece of information as through the days and weeks that followed I witnessed the mango fruit ripening.
I often played in the back yard in the afternoons and felt terribly tempted by the ripe mangoes over the fence, however my fear of the vicious dog prevented me from even attempting to pick a mango. One afternoon, while playing, I became desperately ‘hungry’ and the fruit seemed particularly inviting. I nervously sneaked onto the fence at the far end of the yard to have a better look at the dog, but I couldn’t see the dog anywhere. I took my chance and jumped over the fence, grabbed a couple of mangoes and jumped back into my own yard. They were delicious!
It did not take me long to realise that there was no dog! The moral of the story is not about temptation or repentance or anything deeply spiritual like that. The point is simply that my experience of hunger was real, my experience of fear was real, but these real experiences were based on the lie that I believed regarding a vicious dog. The moment I realised that there was no dog the fear disappeared ... and as a consequence so did the hunger. How many of our real experiences are based on lies? How different would our experiences be, if we believed differently?
The truth that Jesus introduces us to is of a much higher authority than our experience - it is a truth that is able to transform our experience. He wants to introduce us to a truth much broader than our narrow experiences.
“… my judgement would be true because I wouldn’t make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father.”(John 8:16 MSG). If Jesus considered his own experience as narrow compared to a much greater reality, then we too might have to re-evaluate the importance we attach to personal experience.
In the same way as our personal experiences are to narrow to reveal our true identity, so too is our culture too narrow; our language too narrow; our society too narrow; our race too narrow; even our relationships, no matter how precious, are too narrow. He reveals that all the measures we’ve used to measure ourselves with are completely inadequate. “but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding” He shatters our illusions, but at that very moment He also brings to light the truth of our design. We are eternal beings, which means that anything temporal will not do justice to God’s estimation of our worth and He invites us to see ourselves from His point of view.
What do you refer to, to describe yourself? Is it your family traits; your unique childhood; your achievements? Or maybe you have allowed some tragedy to become the defining event of who you are. There is a more valid reference! If you don’t discover that reference, you will allow experiences to shape and twist you. But when you discover that your identity was established in eternity, no temporal event will have the power to deceive you anymore.
Come to this conclusion: I am more than the sum total of my experience. I am greater than all the events in my life joined together. I’m bigger than my biggest disappointment or achievement. I am the image and likeness of God and not a fraction of me has been revealed.
Another way in which a person can define themselves is by what they have gained or by what they have lost. Pride and regret are both deceptions, designed for the same purpose: to blind man; to keep man from seeing his true value, a value far beyond all the wealth you can attain; a value untouched by anything you have ever lost.
A whole new dimension
There’s a lot of talk these days about extra dimensions. A scientific theory that has received much attention lately is called ‘string theory’ and suggests that there are many more dimensions than those we currently observe. If you are interested in that type of thing, I found this web-site very interesting: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program.html.
When mankind discovered the atom, many thought that it was the smallest particle that matter consists of, but pretty soon we understood that an atom consists of protons, neutrons and electrons. But what are they made of? Further investigation unveiled quarks! But what are they made of? A central concept to string theory is that the smallest components of matter are small bits of energy vibrating like the strings on a violin. These vibrations form a cosmic symphony which is at the heart of all reality. In the same way as a violin can produce many variations of musical notes, these strings, vibrating at different frequencies, form all the fundamental particles of the reality we observe. Our universe is the beautiful symphony produced by the resonance of all these vibrating strings. I can’t but see the significance of Heb 1:3 speaking of Christ ” … upholding and sustaining and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power.” At the core of all reality is sound - the sound of God’s voice that spoke creation into being - the Voice that never grows dim, but continues to sustain all existence.
As mentioned before, string theory also suggests the existence of additional dimensions. There is indeed another dimension referred to in the scriptures - a dimension that existed before time and space as we know it; before creation; before the existence of evil. In this eternal realm, the purpose, the course, the duration and final destination of time and space was planned in meticulous detail before it even began. What happened in this dimension is of direct consequence to your existence!
Paul wrote about this dimension or realm in a letter to the Ephesians: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm! He chose us, identified and named us as His own in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be set apart for Him and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love. For He destined us to be revealed as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will.”
Before our milky way was formed, before our sun ignited, before Jupiter or Mars began their orbit, before the earth was able to support life … you were planned, identified and named for a very specific purpose. You predate the dinosaurs! You began way before your conception - you began in the mind of God. “Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days of my life were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.” (Ps. 139:16). It is this realm, this eternal dimension, that preserves the truth about you. In our temporal, time-bound realm there might be many events, circumstances and experiences that try to contradict the truth about you … but they are as shadows compared to the unchangeable truth that was decided before this world began and will remain the only truth after this world has come to an end.
Some of you might remember a movie called ‘Never Ending Story’. In this movie a boy starts reading a very special book that draws him into an entirely different world from his own. The book doesn’t, in the first instance, give advice or direction for his world. In fact the story draws him into a new world, entirely oblivious to his current world and seemingly unconnected. Only closer to the end, as the boy understands more of this new world and more about himself in this new context, does the connection with his ‘real’ world become clear.
In a sense this is what the scriptures want to do - open a door into an entirely new world - the world of God - a world which at first seems entirely different and unconnected to our own. The first priority of the scriptures is not to comment on your life, your subject, your idea, your doctrine or your world - it has much greater ambitions and purposes. Only once you have allowed yourself to be taken to this new world, and discovered yourself in the context of this new world, do the connections and implications for our world become clear. I can’t help thinking of the song: ‘A Whole New World’. Here are a few of the lyrics that fit this concept so well:
…A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view…
A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I’m way up here
It’s crystal clear
That now I’m in a whole new world with you
Now I’m in a whole new world with you
A whole new world
Don’t you dare close your eyes
A hundred thousand things to see
Hold your breath - it gets better
I’m like a shooting star
I’ve come so far
I can’t go back to where I used to be …..
God wants to be more than an accessory to your world. His message is greater than a comment on your life. The scriptures have more to offer than a feel-good inspirational thought to help you through the day. As we read the scriptures, be ready to be transported into an entirely different setting, confronted by entirely new ideas, and transformed into an entirely new person.