With the coming Chinese New Year that calls for reflection on our life, here is a verse for your consideration...
- "He has made everything beautiful in its
time": This phrase provides a "theology of
timing," not a promise of instant clarity. It reassures that every
season—even painful ones—has a purpose and will reveal its beauty at its
appointed moment, even if only in hindsight.
- "He has set eternity in the human
heart": This is the source of our deep, innate longing for
permanence, meaning, and justice. Unlike animals, humans are wired with a
transcendent ache that points to something beyond the temporary, temporal
world.
- "Yet no one can fathom...": This
creates the central tension of the human experience. We are made for
eternity, yet we cannot see the full picture or understand God's complete
plan from beginning to end. This gap between our eternal longing and our
limited understanding is meant to produce humility, not frustration.
The Big Idea: The
verse is about mystery and meaning coexisting. It acknowledges that
we live within time while yearning for eternity, and that we cannot see the
full design. The application is that our task is not to grasp the entire arc of
the story, but to live faithfully in the present moment, trusting that beauty
will unfold in its own time.
Live well by:
- Receiving today as a gift—find joy in small things
now.
- Holding both grief and gladness fully, without
forcing either.
- Making peace with mystery—you don't need the whole
blueprint.
- Walking in humble awe, not demanding all the
answers.
- Doing the small good right in front of you with
integrity.
- Letting your longing for eternity keep your heart
soft, not restless.
In short: Show up
fully to today, trust the One who holds forever, and let your ache for more
point you toward home.
C.S. Lewis put it this way:
“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
Prayer:
Lord of time and eternity,
Teach me to trust Your timing when I cannot see the whole picture.
Help me trust what I cannot see,
and receive what is beautiful today.
Place peace in my heart when understanding fails me.
Help me hold the ache for eternity
without needing all the answers.
You hold the beginning and the end—
I will hold this moment.
Amen.