davidbowerkingwood

A Paradox

Let us define paradox and make sure we are proceeding from a mutually agreed upon definition; the online Merriam-Webster dictionary provides us with the following definition of paradox:

 “a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true”

Why would I suggest you are a paradox? You are composed of both timed and timeless components! I think we can all agree that thinking of ourselves as being timed and timeless would seem at first contradictory and opposed to common sense; nevertheless, the Bible assures us this is our true situation.

Our mortal bodies, which are of the earth, are endowed with a built-in timing mechanism as described below:

“Telomeres protect the vital information in our DNA

“DNA makes up all of the cells in our body. It is the genetic material that makes us who we are. And every organ in our body (skin, liver, heart, etc.) is made up of cells. So, telomeres are vital to our health.

Our cells replenish by copying themselves. This happens constantly throughout our lives. Telomeres get shorter each time a cell copies itself, but the important DNA stays intact.

Eventually, telomeres get too short to do their job, causing our cells to age and stop functioning properly. Therefore, telomeres act as the aging clock in every cell.”

© What is a Telomere? | Human Cellular Aging | TA-65 TA Sciences
Source: tasciences.com/what-is-a-telomere.html
© Protected by WebToMed”

A famous example of DNA and telomeres is Dolly, the sheep; she was cloned from a mature 6 year old sheep and was given DNA with already shortened telomeres; she was euthanized because she had a progressive lung disease and severe arthritis at age 6.5 while the normal lifespan of a sheep is around 11 to 12 years.

Each of us are dependent on telomeres to replicate our ageing cells; when the telomeres are gone the cells can no longer replicate and the body eventually dies.

The “God’s Image” Portion of Us

Our bodies are of the earth and have a built-in clock which time our bodies ability to replicate cells and live. At the creation, God determined to create man in his image and breathed an eternal spirit into man which is indeed, timeless!

While our bodies are mortal and subject to death, our living essence is eternal and will always exist as we were created in the eternal image of God!

The evidence of ageing and death is obvious; the presence of our eternal spirit is a matter of believing faith. The world denies what it cannot see while believing faith recognizes and accepts as real the Biblical account of that which cannot be seen.

Our perception of what is real is complicated by the fact we live in a world which seeks to convince us the here and now is all there is to our existence; once we are dead it is all over, there is nothing else to follow.

It is only in the Bible that our real situation is revealed; we are eternal spirits housed in a temporary body of this earth; while our bodies are timed, our living essence is timeless, created in the image of our eternal creator.

The challenge we face, as Christians, is to let our faith dominate in our lives and learn to suppress the impact of our experience on our perception of reality. In 2 Corinthians 5:7 it is written:

⁷ For we live by believing and not by seeing.

While that is simple to write and to say, it is not simple to live that way; we are constantly challenged by the world to let sight and circumstances determine how we live and perceive reality!

The simple fact of the matter is we can live by believing only by the power of God, the Holy Spirit; it is only when our sin nature is suppressed by confession of sin and the Holy Spirit is controlling our lives, we have any hope at all of living a life of believing faith!

Your Daily Challenge

Each morning, when we wake up, we have a choice to make; one that cannot be escaped through ignorance or lack of will; a choice that will take place automatically whether we consciously make it or not. We determine our perception of reality and decide whether that day, we will live by believing or by seeing.

Living by believing places God at the center of your thoughts and actions; all you think, see and do recognize the sovereignty of God and his primacy in all things. Living by sight places circumstances and the world in control of what you think, see and do.

As Christians, let us join with Paul in recognizing the centrality of God in all we are and do and let this verse control in our lives:

²⁰ My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

An Afterthought.

I often think on Psalms 139 and rejoice in verse 16 where it is written:

“You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.”

I am comforted to remember my times are in his hands!