A Matter of Time

Last night I finished reading Time Peace: Living Here and Now with a Timeless God (Zondervan, 2007) by Ellen Vaughn. Last year I had the privilege of copyediting Mary Beth Chapman's book Choosing to SEE, which Ellen helped to write and shape. She tells stories so well, and I wanted to see if she's as good a writer when she's telling her own stories instead of somebody else's. She is, and I was not disappointed.

Even though I'm a "word nerd," I've harbored a fascination with astrophysics since Mr. Engelsma taught us about the stars back in sixth grade. After eighth grade science class with Miss Jones, I found myself pondering light and its relation to time. And if that wasn't enough to keep my mind busy, Mr. Timmer got me thinking about matter at the quantum level when I took chemistry and physics during my junior and senior years. In the twenty years since then, the world of science has given us many innovations, such as the Hubble telescope and particle accelerators, that allow us to look outward at the vast distance of space and inward at the atomic level. But for all that, I still feel mystified every time I look at the clear night sky. That's as it should be.

Ellen does a good job of explaining all the complex scientific theories in a way even I can understand. She spends a lot of time on Einstein's general and special theories of relativity, and she even touches on string theory. Weaving everything together are stories that she tells so well, I almost felt as if I knew her personally. And what sets her book apart is the way she brings everything back around to a transcendent, unfathomable Creator God who humbled Himself for a season--a TIME--in the person of Jesus so that we can know Him personally.

I chose to read this book because I often feel so pressed for time in my life. And my life isn't that busy compared to a lot of my friends. I began to realize, however, that when someone asks how I'm doing, my automatic reply is often "busy." I'm busy homeschooling Ben. I'm busy keeping up with domestic chores. I'm busy editing and proofreading books. I'm busy with small group and church boards. I'm busy trying to read through my Bible in a year. That last one may sound strange, but that's how I felt around October when I began falling behind in the schedule. I'll close with a short paragraph that is helping me to change the way I think about this elusive yet finite thing we call "time." The reality of these words challenged me, and I hope they challenge you too, dear reader.

The notion that time can become an idol may sound ridiculous. No one would set out to worship time. But does it have its claws in us? Has a habitual preoccupation with busyness, stress, pressure, productivity, and hurry crowded out a preoccupation with the glory of God, not to mention a basic contentment with His gift of life? Are we missing its viable pleasures, subconsciously assuming that at some future point "when things slow down a little" we will enjoy God and the family and friends He has given us--except that mythical future point never arrives? (p. 110)