Do you ever think about time?

I was sitting in a chair on the beach. I was separated from the others, sitting close to the water so I could keep an eye on Ryan and Chase (and Dan, too!). Drew, my soon-to-be-thirteen year old grandson, plopped a chair down next to me and sat down. Do you ever think about time?

I replied, “All the time.” He laughed. It took me a moment to realize what I had said.

Then we discussed time: What is it? Is it real or an illusion? Clocks and more. What a neat thing it was to discuss something I’m fascinated by with my grandson!!

And, as it is with all good discussions, I continued to think about it afterwards. I must confess, while I did explain that God created time, I didn’t say anything about Genesis. But it did come to mind later.

Genesis 1:14-18
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:  
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.  
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.  
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,  
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

God created time, and the markers for time: the sun, the moon, and the stars. This passage mentions day, night, seasons, and years. The moon rules the night and is also the marker for the month. Natural time, or time in nature, is the day, the night, the month, the seasons (solstice and equinox), and the year.

Early man was keenly aware of this and many ancient structures were built based on the movement of the sun. Did I say many, I mean a lot. While ancient people were aware of this, sadly, we have calendars and are unaware of the movement of the sun and moon. Many of us barely even notice the new and full moon.

Then there is the seven day week. Where does this come from? You cannot come to this from the movement of the sun or moon, and yet it is recognized worldwide. God established it when he created the world: six days of creating, one day of rest.

What about the calendar and the clock? These are man-made. But the calendar is based on the sun (year), the moon (months), and the seven days of creation (week). The clock, on the other hand, is an arbitrary division of the day into smaller units (hours, minutes, seconds). When you are away from clocks, you are not aware of hours and minutes, but you are aware of time – the movement of the sun across the sky, the lateness of the day, the onset of night. If you are separated from the clock and calendar long enough, you are aware of day, night, month, season, and year, but you will have no idea of the hour, and without effort on your part, you will not know the day of the week.

Time is real and I’m fascinated by it. The earth tirelessly rotates and revolves around the sun. The moon orbits the earth. Day and night and month and season and year, creation never wearies in its obedience to the Creator. It silently obeys whether I pay attention or not. And yet, how glorious it is when I pay attention!

I love the questions my grandchildren ask me!