Eternity and the Heart

Ever think about the future? Ever wonder about the afterlife? King Solomon when he was old thought about such things when he wrote Ecclesiastes. He wrote:
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV)
Interesting that, in context of eternity, Solomon says that He has made everything beautiful. That is good news because life before death is often not too pretty, much less beautiful.It is interesting that we all seem to be born with this concept of eternity but really cannot understand it, even at a superficial level, with our heads. I guess that is because we cannot grasp timelessness.

I know that I cannot imagine a place where there are no seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks or years. What I find interesting about this idea of eternity is that it is a concept of the heart not the head. It is a concept that confronts us at a heart level. It causes us to wonder at a gut level. Sad that many take eternity, try to discern it with their heads, and arrive at some strange places. Maybe this sort of cogitation is a way to handle an unanswerable question with a non-answer?

Guess I'm just rambling now so I'll wrap up another brief post with a question. What does it mean to you to have eternity in your heart?

12 comments:

  1. Hmmm. Eternity in my heart. I'm afraid I'm the one that always tries to grasp it all in my head. Then, my head goes all funny and confused, and eternity looks ever so huge and amazing and unbelievable. I'll work on the heart thing!

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  2. Having eternity in my heart... this is a great question.

    I think what it means to me in peace. A peace in knowing that I am not forgotten by God. A peace that I am not meant for here. I peace that comes with the promise of life forever with Him.

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  3. It is a concept that confronts us at a heart level.

    Yeah.

    What does it mean to you to have eternity in your heart?

    To me, it means the same thing as having a lover in my heart, except that I cannot find it out from beginning to end. Come to think of it, the same is true of a lover. :-)

    In both cases, though, it means that I'm sure gonna try! Because delving there is a chief joy.

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  4. I was just discussing eternity with a friend yesterday, I'll point him to your post.

    I can't fathom eternity with my heart or my head. The thought of it scares me. I go back and forth wondering what it will be like and if it even exists. I am more confused all the time rather than gaining understanding.

    Sorry - probably not the answer you were looking for! LOL

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  5. I figure that I have eternity in my soul. The recognition of that fact makes eternity real, if not fully understood, by my heart and my mind.

    Jesus abiding in me = eternity abiding in me.

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  6. I'm reminded that the Hebrews thought that the heart was the place of consideration and decision-making. "Heart" in the OT might have meant something more like our word "mind" - the heart was not the seat of emotions, as it is in our culture.

    Cogitating eternity gets weird fast, as you say. As long as we're not too attached to our cogitations, it seems like okay weirdness.

    Eternity in my heart? For me it's remembering that the universe, Creation, is much much bigger than I. That I am part of a larger Whole, that I should live like it. -howie

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  7. Interesting post Bob. I just made a comment on the Liquid Light blog (link on my site) having to do with our inability to comprehend time and I guess that goes for eternity too.

    BTW, been missing seeing you around my friend.

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  8. For me eternity is a holistic deal that impacts my heart, but also my mind, body, and soul. I think on varying levels of awareness I am continually hit with the reality of how life is finite and yet somehow bigger than just ending.

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  9. I have always had trouble thinking of a reality that did not include me....I guess in a way that is eternity in my heart. I think one thing that makes my faith stronger is the fact that I can't see our thinking, complex minds just ending with death.

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  10. I know that in Jesus I have become eternal. That really is too much for my mortal brain to fully understand but by the power of the Holy Spirit, I live it and the fear of death has less and less of a hold over me. I like this phrase: All is well in this moment and this moment is eternity.-- The bad moments are temporal because death reigns supreme in those dark times but death isn't eternal, it is appointed and end at the end of time. The good moments are truly the eternal moments for they are full of Life and Life is eternal and He has had victory over death.

    All is well with my soul.

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  11. Eternity is not a place, nor an infinite duration of time. Eternity is a Who, a Presence who is, well... present. always. whether we 'know' it or not. realized only if, as you say, we see with the eyes of the heart/spirit.

    'be still and know that I AM..." (i omitted 'God' because it's redundant :)).

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  12. You alwyas ask these deep, probing questions!!! I'm not a deep, probing person. My faith is a very simple faith of love & trust. What eternity in my heart means to me is that I already have it....that I'm not waiting for the by-and-by to enter into eternal life and that as I have grown in my spiritural walk during my life so far I will continue to grow as I cross that line into the next domintion of the eternal which will be with a new body. Does that make sense?

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