Eternal questions

From Paul Laurence Dunbar:

"With our short sight we affect to take a comprehensive view of eternity."

This quote is actually taken from a novel by PLD, regarded by many to be less successful than his poetry; although within the fiction, the poetry resonates theme for me - humility.

What do we really know about eternity? A big subject, to say the least. (grin) Is it the infinite or the immeasurable? Does it refer to life after life after life? Or the state of immortality? Perhaps all of the above. For me, having faith means I don't have to know the answer. My task is to believe! Why do we think we need to know something with certainty in order to believe it?

Truth be told, spiritual life holds very few certainties; however, it holds an endless amount of possibility. It is our own frame of reference, crafted over many a year, or newly explored for the young, that shapes the faith we hold in our Higher Power. How we're raised, our environment, family practices, a personal potpourri of influences, our brand of education and our years on  earth - all these things and more contribute to the shaping of our faith. And that faith, for most of us: we hold with commitment!

Scripture can tell us as much as we choose to learn. I've always found Scripture to be fascinating, beautiful, holy documentation, given new life by the faithful reader who draws affirming symbol, comforting story, parabolic strength and any number of nuances that bring relevance to current day, augmenting faith for the believers. Did we see these documents written? Do we know the authors? Do we believe God as the author? Certainties? No. But belief changes the rules. We are only in control of our capacity to believe, the development of our burgeoning or waning faith. It is my opinion that God is present in our struggles and pays attention to this "lack" of control we can all gain when we believe. God is God. We are not.

I love the use of the word comprehensive in the quote. It throws me back to exams, culminating projects: comprehensive - everything is fair game. Know the subject inside and out. Perhaps we can know the subject inside, as that is where our God meets us, where we source the Divine. As human beings, mortals alive on this planet, comprehensive must refer to our fortitude as Believers, not our knowledge of all things eternal. That mystery belongs to God for the giving. We must simply give our power to the Power and know, without question, that God has our backs where eternity is concerned.

Short sighted by nature, we humans are. God loves us (my belief speaking) and takes care of the long sight. Our belief makes it so. No need for us to "affect" comprehensive knowledge of anything. Who are we hoping to impress? We are all mortals, believers in our infancy, fragile and full of potential to be like God, empathetic with all others in our predicament. Belief is real. No need for "affect." Our power comes in the belief that God loves us just that much. Regarding eternity? We'll get there.