90 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You return man to dust
and say, “Return, O children of man!”
4 For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night. – Psalm 90:1-4
Your Dash
For today’s devotion, you are going to have to pick up your dash and a time remote. Don’t know what your dash is? Look at your tombstone. It is that little line between your date of birth and date of death. Don’t have a tombstone yet? Then you are still working on your dash. We are going to take our dashes and lay them down on that red line. Which red line? The one that goes as far to the left and to the right as your eyes can see. We will call the point at which we laid down our dashes the present. In order to stop the present from becoming the past, we are going to use our remotes to stop time. Didn’t think it was possible, did you? Now we are going to walk back in time (to the left, it is always backward).
Milestones
As we walk we see the events that have shaped our lives. Some we want to bypass, others we want to stop and relive. We all have those milestones or time markers we reference when we talk about our past. The year we graduated, the year we were married, the years our children were born, and the years loved ones passed away. Personally, I would like to revisit early 2010 and hold my daughter one more time before the grave took her. You may have a similar longing, but as we review our dash, there are no d0-overs. Only memories and reminiscing. Those of us that were alive when President Reagan was shot know where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news. Same for those who were alive when President Kennedy was shot. We have witnessed wars, political upheavals, and natural catastrophes. We have celebrated birthdays, holidays, and sporting events. As we get to the end of our dash (which is actually our beginning), our journey takes us from the realm of personal experience to the realm of history. Now we get to observe the dashes of others.
Historical Dashes
Wouldn’t it be nice to stop and listen to Spurgeon preach in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, or to hear Whitefield preach to thousands in the open air with no amplification? Perhaps we could drop in and speak with President Lincoln or President Washington. But we have to keep walking. It is amazing to see the different ways people have influenced the world with their dashes. Some have left their mark with military prowess, others with pen and ink. Some have been great orators, others have possessed great business acumen. History has been replete with powerful politicians and gifted athletes. There has certainly been no shortage of great artists and musicians. Many lives have been touched by those who perform on the stage, and many have been inspired by those who preach behind a pulpit. But as our text says, all will return to dust. Their dashes are done.
Our walk ends where time began. We stand in the Garden and look into an expanse. Men’s dashes end, but the red line continues into the expanse. What is out there is a mystery. All we know is that it is occupied by the Trinity. Before there was creation, there was no “time”.
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. – Genesis 1:1
El Olam
In Genesis chapter 21, Abraham referred to God as El Olam, “The everlasting God” or “Eternal God”, Hard for us to grasp the eternality of God. He existed before time. He exists outside of time. Yet, He entered into time. As we stand in the Garden in the cool of the day, Jesus joins us. As God walked with Adam and Eve, Jesus walks with us. As we turn around and walk back to the present, He converses with us as he did with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. As the dashes of humanity lay on the red line of eternity, Christ gives us a His story lesson. From the fall in the Garden and the ensuing promise of a deliverer, Jesus tells us how everything points to Him. Moses, the prophets, the law and the feasts, they all pointed to Christ. As Jesus talks about the manger, a smile comes to His face. As He talks about Gethsemane, He sheds a tear. As He recounts Calvary, we shed some tears. By the time He discusses the resurrection, our hearts are burning. As Jesus shares His story and opens the scriptures, the dashes become less relevant and the red line of eternity more prominent in our eyes. Hearing from the mouth of Jesus about the sacrifice that was made and the blood that was shed for us, gives us a greater understanding of and appreciation for eternity.
As He brings us back to the present, we look ahead to the future. Eternity’s red line still extends as far as the eyes can see. Like the expanse we looked into before “time” began, the future is a mystery. We don’t know what lies ahead, but we know it is occupied by the Trinity. This fact alone makes it a little less intimidating.
Your Dash & El Olam
It is time to pick up the remote and hit the play button. We can’t pause time forever. But before you hit that button to resume time, ask yourself this question: What are you going to do with the remainder of your dash before it is etched in stone? A lot of people will try to influence your decision. Some of their arguments will be pretty appealing. But ultimately, they will return to dust. The wisest thing we can do with our dash is to surrender it to the one who stepped out of eternity, so we can spend eternity with El Olam. He who is from everlasting to everlasting. It is what Jesus has prayed for before your dash began.
4 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. – John 17:24