Everlasting

             Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.  (Psalm 90:2)

 

It would be easy to write a piece exploring the idea of an everlasting God as a thought experiment. In fact, I did, and deleted it. As a thought experiment, it doesn’t matter much to either of us if God actually exists. Even the possibility is kept at a reasonably comfortable distance by the label attached: a thought experiment. Thoughts aren’t real. They’re just what happens when biochemical reactions take place in our heads. So it’s all safe even if it’s not all good.

But what does it mean to us? What does it do to us? What does the existence of a being that brought forth the world, who existed before that, and will continue to exist even if the universe is destroyed mean in our lives? Does it really mean anything? I think it’s clear that it meant something to David. And while there are still far too many people who have this foolish notion that people who lived back in David’s day were stupid (or stooooopid,) there is growing archeological evidence that they weren’t.

So, if we put aside the temporally-arrogant presumption of ancient idiocy, why would David have waxed eloquent in his praise of God’s eternality? Looking at the rest of the passage, it looks like David is being selfish. He is praising God for his eternality because God has been in covenant with Israel for a long time, and God has protected Israel. It makes sense that as long as Israel remains in covenant with God, God will continue to protect it. In a way, then, David is saying that God has lasted this long without being dethroned, and therefore isn’t likely to be dethroned. That means we should praise Him because it will keep him on our side.

We do some of the same things. We’re right there with Him when we have needs, but when we don’t – well, the “with Him” part tends to slide. But go back to the concept. Why do you and I need God to be a forever sort of god, and not one who goes away, fades away, or is kicked off the throne? One possibility goes back to the definition of joy. It is the conviction or settled belief that we are cared for by someone who is capable of caring. Another way of saying it is that it is the conviction that we are loved, even if we feel unloveable.

Other people fall short in this regard, but because God has been around forever and will be around forever, and no one has managed to kick Him out of heaven, He is the only consistent foundation for joy – not for getting our way, but for building the conviction that we are loved.