It Takes Forever

James 4:14 New International Version (NIV)

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Each summer we would load our supplies into the back of our truck as we prepared to drive to the ocean to spend the week camping. The journey was under 90 miles and would take just under two hours to arrive. The start of the journey was filled with the expectation and anticipation of the adventure that waited for us. The younger we were the longer the journey seemed.

Our sense of time changes as we age. When we were young time moved slowly as we waited for events in our lives to arrive. As we age, the years seem to pass by quickly. Time does not change but our perspective of it changes as we gain knowledge and understanding.

I have wondered how our loved ones can be happy in heaven without us. Heaven is a place with no more tears yet there is separation. How can the two coexist? I think the answer may be found in James 4:14. It says that we are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. From our perspective our days seem long but compared to eternity they are a mist. Just as a baby or young child cries when they are separated from their parents, we weep over the separation from our loved one. The adults know that they will be reunited soon so they don’t feel the same pain. When our loved ones gain the knowledge and perspective of eternity, they know that we will be together soon.

We have a limited understanding of time, separation, suffering, and sovereignty. The painful days of grief change our perspectives of time again. Time moves slowly and the pain seems like it will never end. Yet a heavenly perspective says our days of pain are a mist that will last for a little while and vanish. Our days of pain seem like they will last forever but maybe it takes the perspective of forever to change our view of pain.