Lent Day 6

"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son:
and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be:
world without end. Amen."
—Gloria Patri

“World without end.”

Such a captivating description of reality and eternity.
Such a contrast with who we are as dust and ashes.

I've been reading this prayer for the past few months as part of my devotional material. There is something about the last sentence, that stopped time for me.

On the one hand, I needed time to process its meaning—process the grandeur of eternity, but on the other hand, it felt like time did not matter because we will have all the time in the world to contemplate and experience such eternity.  

It's hard to imagine eternity in a season of dust and ashes. It's difficult to hold on to both in this season of Lent. Yet, this feeling of contrast is healthy and even hopeful for followers of Jesus today.

Eternity is not a vacuum on its own. It is not just a duration of time and empty space, but it is in relation to a who. The Triune God is what makes eternity possible, and we are invited to be with Him through it.

Our life group is studying 1-3 John this year, and in 1 John chapter 5, the author writes in the last chapter,

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him...

20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

Eternal life is being in Christ.
Eternity is being in the loving presence of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.

Today, I can feel my body decaying. I can see those around me whose health is fading. I can see the pain, the aches, and the grasping for air. I feel the burden of living toward death.

But I am also weighted by hope. My imagination runs wild for what awaits us in eternity. There are not enough colours in the world to paint it, and there are not enough books to describe it. Our senses are not prepared for the wonders and glory that are on the other side of the veil.

World without ends.

My heart can not wait.