Ten out of ten humans living on this earth right now will die one day. Because of this, many, if not most, people try in some way, shape, or form to delay their aging and/or death. Some exercise thirty minutes a day for five days a week, or they participate in CrossFit or yoga. Others try diets like Whole30 or Keto, and they cut out things like carbs, sugar, or gluten. Some buy myriads of anti-aging creams, and others color their hair to cover up their grays. None of these things last. Unless the Lord decides to return during our lifetimes, we will die. But humans aren’t the only things that die. All living things die: animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. There is one Being, though, who has never died, and He was never born either. That Being is God the Father.
Our God is eternal! In my “His Aseity” post, we saw that God existed before all things. God’s eternality teaches us that God not only existed before creation, He has existed forever. God exists today, and He will exist forever into the future. John quotes our Lord in Revelation:
“‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’” Revelation 1:8, ESV
God is. He exists and is alive today. God was. He has always existed. He was not born or created. God is to come. He will always exist. He will live forever. Moses also speaks of God’s eternality in a prayer of his that is recorded in the Psalms:
“Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Psalm 90:1-2
God is God from everlasting to everlasting! He was God before the creation of the earth. He is the dwelling place of His people throughout all generations. He will always be God. He lives eternally.
But we are not God. We do not live eternally. Compared to our eternal God, our lives are very short, and we never know when God will take us from this earth. James comments on this in his epistle:
“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” James 4:14
The fact that our lives are short and could be taken from us at any day seems very discouraging. If our lives are so short and seemingly insignificant, and we could die at any time, what is the point? What is our purpose? To God, you are significant, and what you do with your life matters to Him. God’s purpose for us is to use every day we have been given wisely and for His glory. Paul writes about this in his letter to the Ephesians:
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16
Author and Bible-teacher Jen Wilkin comments on this verse in her book None Like Him:
“We are commanded to be time redeemers, those who reclaim our time from useless pursuits and employ it to the glory of God.”(1)
You do not know exactly how much time you will have on this earth, but you do know that God has at least given you today to bring Him glory. Be a time redeemer today as you are at school, at work, or at home, and use the time you have been given to obey, honor, and glorify God. Pray today as Moses prayed,
“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” Psalm 90:17
- Jen Wilkin, None Like Him: 10 Ways God is Different From Us (and why that’s a good thing) (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016).
