“Most people falsely assume that eternity starts at some point in the far-off future, and they live accordingly. Eternity is counterclockwise. Eternity is invading time every second of every minute of every hour of every day.”- Mark Batterson
Mark Batterson concludes his Introduction to Win the Day as he notes that we often miss the moment. Because we’re living in the wrong time zone. In fact, psychologists Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert tell us Americans spend 46.9 percent of their time thinking about something unrelated to their present activity.
Thus, when we fixate on the past or feel anxious about the future, we miss the present. And then we wonder where life went. However, Pastor Batterson stresses, the future is right here, right now. In addition, Frank Laubach states the following about the eternal now: “Every now is an eternity if it is full of God.”
Hence, Mark encourages, God shows up and shows off when you do the right things day in and day out. Certainly, we don’t know when or where or how this will happen. Above all, it’ll be on God’s terms and His timeline!
NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith abides by the ‘twenty-four hour rule.’ He sees it as the secret to his success. When he played, Emmitt allowed himself one day to celebrate a win or lament a loss. And when that window closed, he got back to basics.
Most significantly, the twenty-four hour rule serves as the centerpiece of the Lord’s Prayer. There we ask God to give us our daily bread. Yet, Pastor Batterson counsels:
“We want God to provide more so we can trust Him less, but He loves us too much to do that. God will never give us more than we can steward, which is one reason time is divided into days. All we have to do is live in the way He intended.”
So, focus on habits instead of goals. And do so one day at a time.
Today’s question: How do you see that eternity is counterclockwise? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Life themes strike a chord at your core”