this day and that Day...

four-sided clock in Grand Central Terminal in New York City

It was almost 9:30pm on Saturday, December 22, 2007, when our family first stepped into the beautiful Grand Central Terminal in New York City and snapped this photo of the famous four-faced clock over the Information Booth, which dates from the original opening of the building in 1913. Little did we know, but we were about to be amazed and in awe as the eight-minute Grand Central Kaleidoscope of Lights Show began to unfold its fantastic musical sights and sounds to the delight of everyone in the building that night. 

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Looking up at the vision of lights on the massive ceiling and walls was so inspiring. Watching the famous four-faced clock ticking off the minutes of “this day” and the heavenly vision of lights and sounds lifting my heart to “that Day,” I was reminded of this quote:

There are two days in my calendar: this day and that Day.—Martin Luther

We all have “that Day” ahead of us…that Day when our hearts will stop beating…that Day when our families and friends get the news that we are gone…that Day when we see our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ face-to-Face. Our blessed assurance of the certainty of “that Day” dramatically affects the way we live “this day”…in the light of eternity. 

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.—Psalm 139:16 

If any time can be conceived that can be divided into no further parts of intervals, or into only the most infinitesimal parts, that time alone can be called "the present." That time, however, flies past so quickly from the future into the past that it isn't stretched out to even the tiniest interval. If it is stretched out, it's divided into the past and the future, the present, in contrast, has no extent.—The Confessions of St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Book 11, Chapter 20. [A New Translation by Sarah Ruden, 2017]

If an instant of time be conceived, which cannot be divided into the smallest particles of moments, that alone is it, which may be called present. Which yet flies with such speed from future to past, as not to be lengthened out with the least stay. For if it be, it is divided into past and future. The present hath no space.—The Confessions of St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Book XI, Chapter XX, There Is Only A Moment of Present Time

When we step out of time and into eternity everything will be one big panorama. We will see the past; we will see the present; we will see the future—perfectly unfolded and it will all work together for good to those who love God—and it will make sense.—Pastor Ray C. Stedman

How prone we all are to keep our troubles pent up in our hearts until we’re driven to despair. We show much anxiety and ingenuity in seeking to escape our troubles without God. But in so doing, he says, we only get ourselves into “a labyrinth of difficulties.” 

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The answer is to pour out our hearts before Him, taking refuge in Him, because He cares for us. In the Psalms, David has shown us that we can be composed or at peace if God alone is our salvation and refuge. He has reaffirmed it, showing that it is usually a battle to get to this place and remain there in the face of difficult trials.

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The main reason that we should “fight” for God’s peace in threatening times is not so that we will be at peace, but so that God will be glorified and others will be drawn to Him through us. God’s peace comes to us in life’s threatening times when He alone is our salvation and refuge.

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Heavenly Father, I praise you for your amazing sovereignty. You wove me together in my mother’s womb, saw me before I was born, and have already recorded every day of my life. You charted the path ahead of me and laid out every moment before a single day had passed. I don’t have to fear because you are with me, before me, behind me, surrounding me. Help me to live this day in the light of eternity, amen.

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How about you? In what ways do you seek to live each day in the light of eternity? These Casting Crowns lyrics: When I’m lost in the mystery...to You my future is a memory, from the song, You’re Already There, gives me a wide-angle view of my life...a little glimpse of what it will be like when we step out of time and into eternity and see the panorama of the past, the present, and the future all-at-once...He's already there...

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For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.—I Corinthians 13:12

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"When I’m lost in the mystery...to You my future is a memory,"

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Look Up—meditate on I Corinthians 13:12... pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

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Look In—as you meditate on I Corinthians 13:12 ... pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

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Look Out—as you meditate on I Corinthians 13:12 ... pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.