The late great theologian, Dr. Francis Schaeffer and his
wife, Edith, stayed in our home for a week in the Fall of 1982. One morning
around the breakfast table I took the opportunity to ask Dr. Schaeffer
to explain the book of Ecclesiastes. What I remember most about what he
said is that Ecclesiastes is the greatest existential book ever written.
In looking up existentialism in the dictionary, I learned that the
writer of Ecclesiastes was correct. There truly is "nothing new under the
sun". Existentialism is just a name for an ancient problem which began
in the Garden of Eden. One dictionary defines existentialism as "the term
for various philosophical doctrines based on the concept that the individual
is entirely free, and must therefore accept commitment and full responsibility
for his own acts and decisions in an uncertain and purposeless world."
I might add that many existentialists see no harm in bad or wrong as long
as he or she is undiscovered. It has been a slippery slope. In its extreme
today bad and wrong have taken on an "in your face" flaunting of the same.
To much of our culture, to call anything bad and wrong is now bad and wrong.
The good, the right, the lovely, the pure and the true have become victims
of this and other self- centered, like-minded philosophies supporting the
doctrine that truth is relative and dependent upon time, place and one's
own experience and interpretation. In fact, what is good, right, lovely,
pure and true is being redefined and ridiculed as bad and wrong.
Isaiah addressed these very issues over 700 years before the birth
of Christ.
"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness
for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet
for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent
in their own sight!" (Isaiah 5:20-21).
It is possible for those who do not call themselves Christians to
experience the benefits and blessings of the Judeo-Christian ethic in the
here and now if they live according to its inevitable, unavoidable invisible
principles. Likewise the devastations of existentialism are destroying
lives, even the lives of those who have never heard of existentialism.
One of these two belief systems rules in every heart. Sometimes they war
one against the other in our hearts and minds.
If God didn't exist,
everything would
be permissible.
Fyodor Dostoyevski
Dostoyevski said, "If God didn't exist, everything would be permissible".
John Paul Sartre responded to Dostoyevski's statement in Existentialism
and Humanism, "If God did not exist, everything would be permitted;
and that, for existentialism, is the starting point. Everything is indeed
permitted if God does not exist, and man is in consequence forlorn, for
he cannot find anything to depend upon either within or outside himself
. . . he is without excuse."
Existentialism is the opposite of Christianity. From a Christian
perspective, the existentialist creates many gods in the image of self
and disavows absolute truth. More than the issues of immorality and morality,
this supremacy of self, this exaltation of self as one's own god, this
claim of our right to ourselves, is the very essence of Sin from a Christian
perspective.
Though quite imperfect, a biblical Christian recognizes the supremacy
of one God and deems the Bible to contain the truths as to what is right
and wrong, good and bad, true and false. The Christian also believes there
are consequences for violating eternal truths, regardless of whether they
are discovered or undiscovered, acknowledged or unacknowledged.
The Word of God says the rain falls on the just and the unjust, that
the sun rises on both the evil and the good. The distinction between existential
living and Christian living is perspective. The perspective of the existentialist
is temporal. The perspective of the Christian is eternal.
An eternal perspective
is grounded in the
belief
that there is something
more important than the here and now
and that there is
blessing
in every good thing
and in every bad thing that comes our way.
An eternal perspective is grounded in the belief that there is something
more important than the here and now and that there is blessing in every
good thing and in every bad thing that comes our way. The Judeo-Christian
Bible teaches there are consequences of both blessing and/or destruction
for our actions in this life and potentially in the life to come as well.
Both the existentialist and the Christian rejoice in the good times.
Only the Christian can truly rejoice in the bad. Joseph said to his brothers
after years of
suffering and loneliness because of their bad will toward him that
what they intended for evil, God not only used for his good but for theirs
as well (Genesis 45:4-8). The New Testament promises the same thing. Paul
wrote that God will work all things together for good for those who love
Him, for those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
Romans 8:29 amplifies on this powerful truth. God will use all things,
yes, our sins, our suffering, our failures, our successes, even our self-righteousness,
ALL THINGS, for our good. And what does God deem to be for our good? It
is the transformation of the souls of those who love Him and are called
according to His purpose.
And what will be the result of this metamorphosis? It will be the
character and righteousness of His Son, Jesus, the express image of Himself,
being formed; within our souls. The ultimate good is the blessing of heaven.
This is the hope and promise of an eternal perspective.
The ultimate good
is the blessing
of heaven.
This is the hope
and promise
of an eternal perspective.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:18 of two dimensions, one of time and
another of eternity. Time, that which is temporal, is the dimension in
which we live on earth—twenty-four hours a day, 365-1/4 days a year. In
time, there is past, present and future. Eternity is the invisible dimension
of the invisible God. There is no time in eternity, no past, present or
future, though the Lord observes and works in all things through both dimensions.
Paul also indicates in 2 Corinthians 4:18 that those who believe
in Jesus Christ are called to live in eternity while living in time. Now.
Today. This moment.
"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the
things which are not seenare eternal."
Time—The Temporal, Material and Visible
Time is the realm of the material. That which can be seen, touched,
heard, smelled, tasted and intellectually understood is indicative of the
realm of time. Creation dwells in time. In time we have to do such things
as brush our teeth, be careful not to get too close to a fire, get through
school if we expect the odds to be on our side for a successful life, etc.
Time is the reality of every living creature.
William Law contrasted
the two realms as
"the vanity of time"
and
"the riches of eternity.
Eternity—The Spiritual, Mysterious Invisible
Eternity is the realm of the invisible—the realm of faith. The writer
of the existentialist book, Ecclesiastes, defined the realm of the here
and now of time as vanity. William Law (1686-1761) contrasted the two realms
as "the vanity of time" and "the riches of eternity".
The Word of God and the promises contained therein are the bases
of faith for eternity. Significantly, even our faith comes from the invisible
God. In Ephesians 2:8, Paul proclaims that we are saved by grace through
faith, and that our faith does not come from our own initiative. It is
a gift from the unseen God. Faith in the unseen is the essential element
of eternity and the unseen is not wishful thinking. Hebrews 11:6 says,
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen".
The invisible is
far more substantial,
real and weighty
than the visible,
but it can only
be seen
through eyes of
faith.
The invisible is far more substantial, real and weighty than the
visible, but it can only be seen through eyes of faith. There is no clearer
demonstration of faith than Abraham.
"By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a
place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not
knowing where he was going. By faith, he lived as an alien in the land
of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob,
fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which
has foundations, whose architect and builder is God . . . All of these
died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and
having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were
strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it
clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they
had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would
have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country,
that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their
God; for He has prepared a city for them" (Hebrews 11:8-10).
Faith Comes by Hearing the Word of God
If faith comes from God, then He must have some way of awakening
it within us. Romans 10:17 says, "So faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God". The Greek word for "word" in this verse implies a
supernatural understanding of the scriptures from the Lord . . . the Holy
Spirit teaching us
. . . the stirring enlightenment of God.
"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared
for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit:
for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (1 Corinthians
2:9-10).
God also speaks to mankind through His creation. That which was spoken
into existence by God is still proclaiming God to us every moment of every
day. Through creation, unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.
"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His
eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood
through what has been made, so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).
"The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is
declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night
to night reveals knowledge" (Psalm 19:1-2).
That which was spoken
into existence by
God
is still proclaiming
God to us every moment of every day.
And God speaks to mankind through the lives of believers. This is
how I came to know Him—through the testimony of someone whose life He had
changed.
Jesus promised His disciples that His Holy Spirit would make The
Way, The Truth and The Life alive to us.
"But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all
the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He
hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He shall
glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you" (John
16:13-15).
Throughout the scriptures, both Old and New testament, hearing the
voice of the Spirit whispered from God's mouth to our ear—enlightening
the eyes of our understanding—is an indication of relationship with Him.
To live and breathe in the rarefied air of eternity requires
surrender as much as we know to surrender to the higher purposes of God
through His Son Jesus Christ. In this realm of the Spirit or breath of
God we accept that God's ways are not our ways, that His thoughts are not
our thoughts, that His plans and purposes for our lives are greater and
higher than ours. His word says so.
To live and breathe
in the rarefied
air of eternity
requires surrender
as much as we know to surrender to the higher purposes of God through His
Son Jesus Christ.
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher
than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and
the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering
the earth, And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower
and bread to the eater, So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And
without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:9-11).
This is eternal thought!
God enables us to live in eternity while still in our flesh and blood
bodies through His Holy Spirit and His gift of faith in promises like Isaiah
55:9-11 referenced above.
In the visible realm we learn to trust God to do what is ultimately
right and best for each of us. By His grace, we learn to subject our will
to His will and trust Him for the outcome even when it does not line up
with our desires and expectations.
Someone once said that vulgarity (that which is typical, common,
ignorant, ordinary and unregenerate) is the inability to delay gratification.
In the visible realm of time vulgarity prevails—we want what we want when
we want it. Now! Today! This minute, even when it might not be what is
best for us. Or we might want it before it is best for us to have it. Without
an eternal perspective, we can grow bitter and disappointed or arrogant
and self-serving, or all of the above. Through the prism of an eternal
perspective we find peace and rest for our souls regardless of our circumstances.
In the visible realm
we learn to trust
God
to do what is ultimately
and eternally
right and best for
each of us.
Eternal Words
If wanting what we want when we want it is the byword of time, patience,
endurance and perseverance are the bywords of the eternal. At their root,
these words mean "the ability to stay under present suffering with hope"
and an eternal vision. Not the ability to avoid our heartaches, disappointments
and broken dreams! And not the disability of climbing into a hole and giving
up on our hopes and dreams! But the divine ability to endure waiting with
hope until the Lord has resolved our dilemmas at their very roots and brought
forth His purposes AND promises for our lives.
"For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope;
for why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we
do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it" (Romans 8:24-25 NAS).
Listen to the promise in James about patience, endurance and perseverance.
"When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives,
my brothers, don't resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!
Realise that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality
of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed,
and you will find you have become men of mature character, men of integrity
with no weak spots" (James 1:2-4 The Phillips Version).
Paul speaks of this same progression of trials and tribulations.
He claims these things produce patience, perseverance and endurance in
us and that these qualities further produce character, hope and the love
of God in us.
" . . . we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation
brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven
character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God
has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given
to us" (Romans 5:3-5 NAS).
In the here and now of time, integrity and godly character sound
old-fashioned, but there is no safer, happier, more fulfilling place to
be. In the visible realm we learn to trust God to do what is ultimately
right and best for each of us.
In the here and now
of time,
integrity and godly
character
sound old-fashioned,
but there is no
safer, happier,
more fulfilling
place to be.
A Bigger Look at God's Eternal Plans
Betrayal and loss could have blinded Joseph to his destiny and the
destiny of Israel had he not been broken and transformed by God through
them. When he was seventeen, Joseph had two dreams which indicated to him
that he would be the ruler of his family. He arrogantly flaunted those
dreams before his brothers. They rebelled against his arrogance.
Joseph's long, painful journey began when his jealous brothers plotted
his murder. They were only dissuaded from their plans for his death by
their brother Reuben's ardent pleas. Instead of physical death Joseph descended
the long narrow way of God's high calling of death to his own ambitions
and dreams to fulfill God's. He was taken to Egypt and sold as a slave
to a man named Potiphar. Betrayal and loss revisited Joseph when Potiphar's
wife tried to seduce him into her bed. He honorably refused.
Unaccustomed to being denied, she vindictively accused him of attempted
rape. This led to his next appointment with destiny. Potiphar unjustly
cast him into prison. It was there that Psalm 105:18 says "his soul entered
into the iron," a phrase which only minimally describes his sense of betrayal,
abandonment and forlorn agony. He remained in the dungeon of despair until
God swung wide the door to his ultimate destiny in history. Ruler of the
world.
Those twenty-plus
years
of loss and grief
were Joseph's valley
of soul-making.
God permitted every step of Joseph's life. His brothers' jealousy,
his enslavement, Potiphar's wrath and the prison of gloom and despair were
all part of God's divine preparation and plan for Joseph's reign over Pharaoh's
kingdom. In Joseph's own words to his brothers years later, "It was not
you who sent me here, but God" (Genesis 45:5).
The fulfillment of God's plans for Joseph were far more grand and
glorious than anything Joseph ever imagined. Those twenty-plus years of
loss and grief were Joseph's valley of soul-making. God wanted and needed
a man with bigger vision and heart than those of a spoiled seventeen-year-old
boy. Joseph's trials enlarged his heart and made room for God's love, care
and provision for the entire world in it.
God's purpose in all that happened to Joseph was to prepare him to
be His chosen ruler over Egypt, which was essentially all of the world.
An arrogant adolescent would never have been up to the task, at least not
for what God had in mind. He had a much higher purpose for Joseph in a
much bigger picture than the here and now. God used Joseph to fulfill the
promise He had made to Abraham some 200 years earlier.
"And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall
be a stranger in a land that is not theirs [Egypt], and shall serve them:
and they shall afflict them for four hundred years; And also that nation,
whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out
with great substance" (Genesis 15:13-14).
An arrogant adolescent
would never have
been up to the task,
at least not for
what God had in mind.
God used a worldwide famine to bring Joseph's family [Israel] into
Egypt, "the land that was not theirs". Galatians 3:17 confirms that the
promise God made to Abraham was fulfilled four hundred and thirty years
later when Moses brought them out of Egypt to begin their return journey
to Israel.
"What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty
years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God,
so as to nullify the promise."
Joseph probably did not have the Big Picture at the tender age of
seventeen, but at the end of his life he clearly knew he had participated
in the fulfillment of God's grand and glorious plan and promise to his
great-grandfather, Abraham. Ninety-three years after his first dreams of
being the head of his family, which he became, he said to his brothers
before his death,
" . . . ‘I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you,
and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob'. Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying,
‘God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from
here'" (Genesis 50: 24-25).
And so he was. Four hundred years later, Moses did just that. Joseph
entered the promised land with the rest of Israel.
"And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the
sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, ‘God shall surely take care of you;
and you shall carry my bones from here with you'" (Exodus 13:19).
This account of Joseph's life teaches us that God has greater plans
and purposes for our lives than many of our own puny plans and longings.
Like it or not, our lives make an impact for good or for evil. God's blessings
are never for us alone. They flow out to those we directly touch and are
passed on from there to others. They will continue on to the generations
yet to be born. Ultimately they flow out beyond our families into the world.
We see how this principle operated in the life of Joseph. The entire world
at that time experienced the blessings of God through him as they partook
of His provision during the devastating famine. Through God's man, Joseph,
He made Egypt the storehouse for every living creature.
Joseph's life teaches
us
that God has greater
plans and purposes
for our lives than
many
of our own puny
plans and longings.
Abraham and Joseph were used of God to bring the eternal purpose
of God to pass hundreds of years later in the land promised to Abraham—the
birth, life, death and resurrection of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
He was the seed God promised to Abraham centuries before His birth and
so are all believers in Jesus Christ (Genesis 12:1-2, Genesis 15:1-6, Galatians
3:6-29). His was the invisible city Abraham was in search of and He was
Abraham's God. And He is our God. What an exciting way to live—for God
and for the benefit and blessing of mankind.
We enter the invisible realm of eternity through God's gracious gift
of faith. And we receive that gift by surrendering our hearts to the rule
and reign of Jesus Christ in our lives. I pray He will give you eyes to
see, ears to hear and a heart to understand Him. If you are walking by
sight and living a life of relativism, I pray the gift of repentance will
come to cleanse and turn your heart to the invisible God Who reigns in
the invisible realm of eternity. I pray that He will fulfill all of His
purposes and dreams for your life and the lives of those you hold dear—even
to the generations yet to be born.
We enter the invisible
realm of eternity
through God's gracious
gift of faith.
"'For I know the plans that I have for you', declares the Lord,
'plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future hope, Then
you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your
heart. And I will be found by you,' declares the Lord . . . " (Jeremish
29:11-14).
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one
should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them"
(Ephesians 2:8-10 NAS).
Are you weary and heavy laden? Faith in Jesus Christ opened my eyes,
ears and heart to behold Him Who sits on His throne in the invisible realm.
One moment I was living in the one-dimensional realm of time and the next
I became a child of the King. My eyes were opened to another realm
I had never known before. From that first moment, my life began to change.
Would you like to trust your life to His loving care? Ask Him to take your
life. Ask Him to forgive your for your sin and waywardness. Ask Him to
make you what He wants you to be. Find a church that teaches that the entire
Bible is the truth. Study the Bible. Ask the Lord to teach you truth. Become
a member of a small group. Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship—with
Jesus Christ and with other believers. You cannot walk with the Lord without
His body—other Christians.
The core of sin
is our making ourselves
the center of life,
rather than accepting
the holy God as
the center.
D. D. Williams
"Thus says the LORD, 'Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient
[invisible] paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you shall
find rest for your souls'. But they said, 'We will not walk in it'" (Jeremiah
6:16 NAS).
"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no
one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6 NAS).
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you
rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble
in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy,
and My load is light" (Matthew 11:28-30 NAS).
"We cannot understand the depth of the Christian doctrine of sin
if we give it only a moral connotation. To break the basic laws of justice
and decency is sin indeed. Man's freedom to honor principles is the moral
dimension in his nature, and sin often appears as lawlessness. But sin
has its root in something which is more than the will to break the law.
The core of sin is our making ourselves the center of life, rather than
accepting the holy God as the center." D. D. Williams
"The nature of sin is not immorality and wrongdoing, but the nature
of self- realization which leads us to say, ‘I am my own god.' This nature
may exhibit itself in proper morality or in improper morality, but it always
has a common basis—my claim to my right to myself." Oswald Chambers
Eternity Now (c) 1998 by Anne Murchison
Not for commercial use.
Please feel free to copy for for personal use.
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