Nov. 10, 2010
 
DEVOTION: Like It Never Happened
 
By Beth Bondurant
 
Infinity is a difficult concept. To understand an unlimited extent of time is discombobulating.
 
Most of us need "handles" on our day... our week... what has already taken place and what is coming in the future. Living in the moment seems to depend on our perception of time in relationship to the people, places and events that surround us.
 
Specific experiences that occur in our earthly form might be considered minuscule...like it never happened... in the immensity of 'infinity'.
 
"God isn't God of the dead, but of the living; for to God... all are alive."
 
We have a tendency to separate earth and heaven... God with us here... there and everywhere. Yet, scripture doesn't put God in a category of time and space... God is and was and will be ... for all infinity.
 
At some point we will return to our beginning... which then will have no end.
 
Being human... living through today... "like it never happened"... doesn't make sense.
 
Our carnal condition allows us to feel pain and pleasure... happy and sad... up and down with each breath we take. God's restorative power of creation that has no end... isn't always comforting in the midst of our trials and tribulations. How can we ever live ... like it never happened... no matter what.
 
Think about it... abusive people... critical health issues... sudden accidents that take the life of a loved one... hunger and starvation... war and endless strife... judgement and discrimination... no justice or equality... broken relationships... lack of resources... the list can go on and on.
 
Yet a thousand years passes in the blink of an eye ... like it never happened.
 
"Then the Angel showed me Water-of-Life River, crystal bright. It flowed from the throne of God and the Lamb, right down the middle of the street. The Tree of Life was planted on each side of the River, producing twelve kinds of fruit, a ripe fruit each month...and the leaves of the Tree are for the healing the nations."
 
O God... heal my heart. I do so need "love that never ends" to repair my thinking and my doing from moment to moment. When bad things happen to good people... help me understand that you have never left us... that your presence and power is ever near and that you have the ability to bring the pieces of our hearts back together again... no matter how difficult our earthly time becomes. In all of infinity... love prevails. We cling to this truth and though it seems impossible... uncanny... mysterious... and almost unbelievable, you are able to rejuvenate today... like it never happened.