Austin's Blog

On the morning of January 17th, I had a minor surgery that required me to go under anesthesia. I’ve never broken a bone or had a surgery until that day. I woke up that morning and spent special, intentional time with both Addison and Gabriel. After all, something could happen to me. I had never gone under before. I remember Gabe being extra snuggly and even falling asleep on me before we left to drop him off and go to the hospital. The lead up to the surgery lasted forever. Once the gas mask was put on and I started counting backwards though, it was all over. For me, it felt like I closed my eyes and immediately opened them a moment later. That’s how quick it all felt. It felt like the passing of but a few seconds.

Our lives are like that. They are brief. They are short. They last only for a little while. Gabriel was given 366 days. Who knows how long we will have. Regardless, in comparison to eternity, our lives are but a drop in a bucket next to the Pacific Ocean. The Bible speaks of the brevity of life often. James asks in 4:14, “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” The Psalms describe our lives as a puff of smoke (102:3), the breadth of a hand (Psa. 39:5), a dream (Psa. 90:5), an evening shadow (Psa. 102:11), withering grass (Psa. 103:15-16), and a passing breeze (Psa. 78:39). Moses encourages us to dwell on how transient and temporary life is because it garners true wisdom. “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psa. 90:12) In light of eternity, this life is over in a blink of an eye. We need to dwell on our short life as well as our very long life in the world to come.

What does this mean for those who are suffering? First, there’s a limit. James Smith writes, “Time is the limit of your trials, temptations, and troubles. Time is the limit of your conflicts, doubts, and fears. Time is the limit of your pains, privations, and griefs.” They feel endless, suffocating, and massive. Yet, this too shall pass. Second, thinking about the brevity of life and the length of eternity will enable us to endure our suffering even better. Nancy Guthrie writes, “When we read Paul’s description of his troubles as ‘small’ and ‘momentary,’ we wonder if he really knew what it is like to suffer. But the truth is that Paul’s suffering included being imprisoned, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, robbed, hungry, thirsty, cold, and naked—none of which I would describe as insignificant or brief. It is hard for us to understand how he could view these things as inconsequential, isn’t it?  But he saw them through the perspective of eternity, in light of the glory to come. Our problem is not so much in seeing our current affliction as light or our suffering as long, but that we think so little of eternity.” Third, we should remember that God is gracious and spreads out our grief over a lifetime but only a lifetime. We aren’t called to carry the full weight of it in a moment but carry it over our lifetime until our life after this life. Then, it is over. Eternity will be like the sun rising to melt away a thin layer of snow on a misty morning.

What do we do now? We must continue living. We must move forward. We must wisely use our remaining time. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring, the main character is tasked with the impossible weight of carrying the one ring to its doom. The once-lost ring of Gollum lies in Frodo’s possession and the Dark Lord Sauron has menacingly returned. The ring must be dealt with but it will require a frightful and difficult journey that includes strife, terror, and danger. The hobbit laments, “I wish it need not have happened in my time.” Gandalf, the sage wizard, replies, “So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” Time running out is both a gift in light of eternity but also comes with a responsibility, a potential investment opportunity, and a calling. What will we do with our remaining time? Again, James Smith writes, “…the design of our life is to glorify him, which we can only do by believing his promises, embracing his Son, observing his [commandments], and consecrating our time and all our talents to his praise. Here we should live for God — and then in eternity we shall live with God. Here we should aim in all things to honor God — and then in eternity God will honor us.”