Eternity to the godly is a day that has no sunset; eternity to the wicked is a night that has no sunrise.
~Thomas Watson
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with Him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” … Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except He Who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.
~ Jesus, King of The Universe, in John 3
Oh beloved, it is true.
This fool of a writer is 53, and has lived in 45 places – in six countries. Lives of people like me are an adventure. This life lived ‘sans frontieres,’ is both a privilege and a burden, though. In our missing, we have learned to take home with us in our hearts. We have learned to allow the network and people of our lives to grow into a wide and beautiful tapestry woven by our Creator.
As difficult as it is, we are beginning to learn to rest in the goodness of The One who made us. He is merciful and gracious. And He will bring beautiful adventures along the path He has set for each of us. So, in all of our comings and goings, we learn that all is well. And so, will ever be.
And, while our lives are lived along a path that we call time; things happening to us in sequence, some of the experience of a ‘ranger’ of the earth helps us to have a glimpse into the way that reality truly works.
Physics seems to be settling in on some pretty astounding discoveries. A number of viable theories of reality are showing that we live in at least ten different dimensions, and possibly 26! And, while this is truly not possible for a four-dimensional mind to comprehend, what it does point to is the expanding of possibilities to such an extent, that time is no longer a limiting factor. Rather, time becomes one of many ‘dashboard indicators’ of reality.
Can we see it?
Nicodemus had the same problem that most of us have. He could only see things from his own perspective. He was not just unable, he was unwilling to believe that things could be anything other than sequential. And from this refusal to see and hear came his question putting Jesus’ words to a test.
However, the One sitting across from Nicodemus, did not only see things clearly, He was (and is, and will be) the Creator of the existence that frames these dimensions. Jesus understood that time, space, and all other dimensions are constructs flowing forth from His very mind. They, every dimension, is a media upon which He Lives and Moves, and Has Their Being. He was, to say it simply, living in The Spirit.
We, especially Westerners, have our view of spirit muddied by a persistent and pernicious dualism that makes our life something OTHER than the life of G_d. However, while truly He is far beyond us – G_d is simply living in total communion with that which is real. We are only experiencing a subset of total reality.
Now, while much of this may seem a bit mystical, it really isn’t. Jesus was making something really clear to Nicodemus. Being born again is not some sequential step in the life of a believer. It is, rather, a repentance (a thinking beyond) from our former way of seeing things. And when we see it, it is more beautiful than we could ever imagine.
Jesus is everything He ever was, is and will be, everywhere, and at every time – and every possibility. He does not just understand what has happened and will happen, He is – even now – in every possibility and outcome. And when we understand this, it is an enormously comforting truth. There is no place, no time, and no potential outcome that He is not already in, right now. G_d is at work re-presenting His goodness to us. But, He is also pre-presenting Himself to us as well.
So, are you struggling with the sense that you are not safe, or that you are abandoned and alone? Perhaps the best thing you could understand right now, is that because Who G_d really Is, this is impossible.
Tonight is your night. Time to understand the timeless nature of our Life in Christ.
The Christian life is a long and continual tendency of our hearts toward that eternal goodness which we desire on earth. All our happiness consists in thirsting for it. Now this thirst is prayer. Ever desire to approach your Creator, and you will never cease to pray. Do not think it necessary to pronounce many words.
~François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon
