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Fifteen Minutes... A Split Second


It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (II Corinthians 4:13-17)

           Let’s begin with what I am not saying today. I am not saying that pain is trivial, insignificant, or easy. I am saying that it is temporary. Death is temporary, too. We begin dying the day we are conceived and the process continues until our bodies cease to function. In between, living means facing pain, struggles, and death. If, somehow, you’ve managed to not learn this yet in your life, I’m sorry because at some point soon, you can probably expect a rude awakening. 
          Christianity doesn’t promise that the moment you become a Christian, all that dying and pain go away. It promises that all that dying and pain are temporary. Somewhere, I read that – according to scientists – if the nearly 14 billion years[1] the universe has been around were a 24 hour day, that mankind has been around for the equivalent of a few seconds. Using the same concept, if the universe is 7000 years old, then a 70 year lifespan is like 15 minutes by that same measure. What if we compare the 70 year lifespan to eternity?
           The death and pain that I wrote about facing as I walked across the parking lot to my old job? It’s gone. I’m sure it had an effect in my life, but I don’t face it any more. The pain in my leg that has plagued me for the past week? It’s not as bad as it was five days ago. The people who have been cruel to me for the most part either are no longer a part of my life, or the cruelty has stopped, or I’ve gotten stronger. 
            As I think about my life as 15 minutes out of 24 hours, or the split second compared to eternity, I can’t help but think about the eternity part. I have tended to think that one of the joys of heaven will be to listen to the stories and lectures of so many thought-filled people from earth. How many times do would you want to focus on what happened during one difficult second of your day when the rest was perfect? I may have the joy of listening to those lectures, but I suspect David won’t recount slaying Goliath. I don’t know that Paul will mention his shipwrecks, beatings, or debates. Perhaps most amazingly, I suspect Jesus won’t say much about the Crucifixion. (For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.) That’s not to say that these things didn’t matter, but that they were temporary. 
        When I’m in pain, the world tends to shrink down to that pain. One of the things that I’ve read that helps someone who is in pain is to be help them see beyond the pain. One way to do that for yourself is to think with eternity in mind. Most people can live with pain for a few minutes. It may seem like a lifetime, but it’s not.


[1] I’m not saying I believe the universe is that old.

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