The Mystery of Time
Open Your Bible
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, John 16:25-33, 1 Corinthians 2:9-10
BY Bailey Gillespie
There’s a word in the German language, sehnsucht, that C.S. Lewis popularized in his book Surprised by Joy. Sehnsucht refers to the yearning and longing our human hearts feel for more, for an unnamed place or the fulfillment of desires that cannot be quenched in this world alone. This Romantic concept was key to Lewis’s eventual belief in Christianity. He often encountered everyday things that evoked this pang of longing, like the smell of a bonfire or the sound of ocean waves, and filled him with an insatiable desire for more that he couldn’t quite explain. It was really the truth behind Ecclesiastes 3:11 that seized him: God has put eternity in our hearts.
Think about that for a moment. Even taking into account what we do know, eternity is a bit of a mystery, isn’t it? From the Old Testament to Revelation, Scripture gives us clues, like tracks in the woods, but not enough to form a complete understanding.
In Scripture, the word eternity refers to the mind-bending truth that God has no beginning and no end, but it can also be used as shorthand for our future life with God—in heaven or in the coming kingdom. We will have the life of God, eternal by its very nature.
But in the same breath, the author also says that “no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end” (v.11). This statement has always been a little confusing for me. If God put eternity in our hearts, why does He place limitations on our discovery? I want my longing to generate endless insight about what God is up to. Instead, I’m told “no one can discover” what God has done, at least not the full scope of it. There is knowledge He has reserved for His own purposes, which “no eye has seen” and “no human heart has conceived” (1Corinthians 2:9). And so our response to Him must be one of faith.
Although there isn’t anything particularly special about bonfire smoke or sea salt, there are things in this life that catch our attention and draw us toward heaven. For you, it may be the feel of your baby’s hair. For another, maybe the taste of raspberry jam. Whatever it is, Scripture tells us that God has built eternity into the fabric of our hearts and that all creation declares His glory.
But it is still a mystery. God gives us some knowledge, but not enough to discover His full and perfect plan. So, as Christians, we acknowledge that, even if we don’t fully understand what eternity will be like or how time works in the kingdom of God, by faith we believe that God places this longing in us so that we seek and find Him. We pay attention to this “inner knowing” and choose to trust what God has revealed. What we see is not all there is. One day, the veil will be pulled back. Eternity is coming.
Until then, we have crackling bonfires and ocean waves to remind us.
97 thoughts on "The Mystery of Time"
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“You have made us for yourself, and out hearts are restless until they can find peace in you.”
-Augustine -
I love how this devotion focused upon the concept of eternity being placed in our hearts. However, my thoughts were drawn to verse 8.
There is a time for everything — and that means everything. Even the suffering and sorrows we face in this life have their season. Each of the things on the list in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 has a positive or negative feel to it according to our human perceptions. Yet, in his sovereignty, God has a purpose for each one.
It’s a bit easier for me to grasp the ebb and flow of mourning and dancing, but wrapping my mind around loving and hating has taken a longer time of in depth study to begin to see how “hate” is interwoven with the “love” of God. When Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 6:43-45), I initially thought that meant no hate was good in God’s eyes. However, passages such as this one in Ecclesiastes along with others such as Psalm 15:4; 26:5; 31:6; Proverbs 8:13; Luke 14:26; and Jude 1:23 press me to prayer asking for the Spirit to reveal a deeper understanding of love and hate.
While it’s evident to me that there is a kind of ‘hate’ which is self-oriented, therefore evil, I realized I need a better understanding of a right kind of hate. An article from Desiring God, “Do You Love Your Enemies Enough to Hate Them?:, fleshed out the idea that there is a way that Christ’s love intersects with hate. The matter rests on hating the evil they do as it’s an affront against God while desiring they repent, turning to Jesus for forgiveness, cleansing and transformation. I’m grateful for this deeper understanding and I pray it turns into deep application. May the Lord bless each of you in the same way.
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Thank you for sharing your journey on this, profound words and thoughts!
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That desire and pull toward something more all answered in one phrase, “he has put eternity in my heart.” WOW GOD! Help me be patient until the day the veil is pulled! ♡
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Kristina, the same verse stood out to me as well “a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing”.
I was thinking about when we go back to school in the fall, these sweet little kindergartners will be 1st graders. I miss their sweet faces. I miss them running up to me when I get to work and stretching out their little arms for a hug. I guess it’s a good thing that we are all apart right now. Although the other day when I was running on the trail I ran into one of our families whose kindergartner and I connected well during the school year. And her mother “allowed“ me to hug her daughter. My heart was happy! -
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. “
This is to be remembered when we find ourselves in the middle of something we can’t see out of, or in times of anxiousness.
May we remember that God makes all things new. -
As I read today I drew a vertical ray with the point at the bottom and the infinite arrow at the top.
I wrote at the point, “God’s breath in us.” And at the top, “God embraces us” (picturing us in His presence)
Along the vertical ray I put different lengths of horizontal line segments. For me, this visual represents the opposites mentioned in verses 1-8.
Next to, “give birth” I wrote…don’t give into despair mamas…enjoy this time, it is fleeting! I circled the word “die” and wrote “new life with Christ,” for we will then be home.
I wrote a few other personal notes along the others as well.
That vertical ray, for me represents God’s gift of this life to us, occupied with tasks He provides and allows.
The ray is one piece because He is our creator and gives the breath that starts our journey and it continues forever because He has put eternity in our hearts. We do not understand or know the length of our ray but we know where it will end because we are His children. For the Father himself loves us!
I cannot fathom what eternity will be like but, I know the love of the Father in today and that makes me so very excited for the promise of forever. I can only imagine.
So, so, so, amazing. -
This reminder that He set eternity in our hearts is such a timely reminder. My soul feels so confused and conflicted at our world’s current reality. But then The Lord gently reminds me, “ This is not your home.” The ache I feel for more reminds me I am away from the Father. I’m in the in between.
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I love this acknowledgement of eternity in our hearts. For me, I feel like this is such a gift from the Lord – we know from His words that this life is full of trials, that we are all human and sinful. This means our life will be full of ups and downs, twists and turns. But these moments, so personal for each one of us, is Gods way of letting us see and taste. I love that the pull of eternity we feel may be different for each of us. I feel it most when it’s a warm day but in comes a gentle cool breeze. It’s comforting, uplifting, and reminds me that God controls all things. I hope and pray that whatever each of you are encountering today’s that you’re able to find a quick glimpse of eternity. ❤️
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