The origins of entropy III - His time

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 

2 Peter 3:8 

The divine perception of time has always confounded man. Even though we’re made in His image, our external and internal clocks appear to be wired differently from His. Understanding this and aligning with divine timing is a crucial aspect of fulfilling divine purpose.  

While He appears to be focused on processes such as fostering the right environment for His kingdom here on earth, we tend to be preoccupied with speed. Therefore, He can afford to wait millennia for man’s thoughts and values to align with His while we are persistently restless, hopping from one task to another and defining productivity by how much we get done within a reference timeframe (minutes, hours, days). Small wonder His descriptors for time are long term (seasons and generations) while ours are rate-dependent (per second). With this temporal perceptual difference, it is easy for us to be ensnared by comparisons as well as jealousy and our default mode becomes impatience. 

Jesus’ final temptation in the wilderness wasn’t just a promise to deliver the kingdoms of the earth; it was also labour-sparing and timesaving. He wouldn’t have had to endure the crucifixion or millennia of intercession (on our behalf) at the Father’s right hand for His work to be done. From a mortal productivity perspective, it was a no-brainer and a rational shortcut to fulfilling His fourth mandate (as described in the previous post). However, it would have come at a great expense. Perhaps he would have died (been separated from God) and lived out His earthly years as a carpenter; there’d be no church or restoration of gentiles or the promise of His kingdom on earth. Pretty steep opportunity cost due to impatience. 

Why do we perceive time differently from Him?  

Long before physical timepieces were invented, our biological clocks were designed by Him. And so, we have circadian rhythms and hormonal cycles to correlate with external timeframes from cortisol secretion to ovarian follicular maturation. External timeframes on the other hand, are largely defined by planetary rotations and revolutions; coincidentally, his first creative works as per Genesis 1:1. It becomes obvious then that He’s external to time, having created the systems by which it’s measured. He’s not bound by our perceptual limitations of chronology (Greek - kronos) but sees one big “real-time” picture that includes the past, present and future therefore is able to intervene at the right time (Greek – kairos). Our linear temporal experience often leads to impatience so as not to be left behind by the pace of events while He instead uses time as a tool for His purpose.  

According to Solomon, time and purpose are inseparable (Ecclesiastes 3) and our divine purposes are no exceptions. Looking to fulfil divine purpose in our linear, sequential view of time might result in us being out of sync with His will or even missing divinely -orchestrated opportunities. Rather we should strive to understand the divine big picture (like the Sons of Issachar) through prayer and thus fulfil our kairos-ascribed purpose. 

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. 

Ecclesiastes 3:11 

The origins of entropy II - Preserving divine purpose

For You have made him a little lower than the angels, 
And You have crowned him with glory and honour. 

Proverbs 8:5 

There are three dimensions to the divine purpose of our earthly walk: identity, function and timing. From Adam to Apostle Paul, we see these three aspects to everyone's purpose(s) repeatedly attacked to derail the divine big picture. In the previous entry, we saw how Jesus withstood temptations to prove His divine nature, pervert His purpose (or function) and prematurely abort His ministry by remaining self-confident and responding through his divine persona – the Word. Shall we examine the next dimension – function? 

Thanks to the manufacturing boom in the last half-century, living spaces in our homes are getting smaller. We’ve got larger TVs, shelves filled with books and kitchens crammed with devices we rarely use from veggie juicers to air-fryers. This surge in consumerism is largely attributed to innovations in device functionality and manufacturing processes (thus cheaper, smarter products with specific functions).  

To combat this unsustainable trend with a negative environmental impact, there’s a current drive to declutter our lives through adoption of minimalist lifestyles. And thanks to the internet-of-things (IOT) we’ve begun to design and produce the tools we need to achieve this: multifunction devices that organise our finances and work schedules, track fitness and personal health goals, remotely control home appliances and not forgetting basic communicative functions (calls, messaging, emails). With this paradigm shift, the idea of solitary functionality is gradually being replaced by the concept of appliances being “multipurpose” and the argument for this shift is compelling: reduced personal and environmental carbon trails. Multifunctionality promises cool times ahead for modern living. But should we apply the same expectations to people? 

There’ve been recent attempts to suggest people need to be flexible and adopt multiple roles for society to keep progressing. And so, a case has been made for blurred gender roles in homes and side hustles to keep up with rising costs of living. The idea that work should be defined by “problem-solving" is gradually being replaced by the “anything that pays the bills” mindset. Afterall, we’re in a rat race. Therefore, we’re professionals by day and online content creators come nightfall. While these “forward-thinking” approaches have their benefits, they create ideal environments for wrong outcomes through perversion of intent (or function) via distractibility. Think these distractions are new? Think again. Jesus called them “the cares of this world” alluding to the fact that they were present in His time as well; maybe just in different forms. And did they lead to perversion of divine intent? Betcha! The temple purge was geared towards restoring its function of fellowship after centuries of depravity turned it into a house of profit (Matthew 21:12-13). Apparently, it is possible to get caught up in the demands of our earthly functions that we are distracted from our spiritual purpose (s). 

And what might that (those) be? Rick Joyner describes four divine purposes (functions) for Adam’s creation1:  

i) fellowship with God;  

ii) cultivate the garden;  

iii) be fruitful and multiply and;  

iv) rule over the earth and all that’s in it.  

Since we’re new creations in Christ, it’ll be instructive to note that His spiritual purposes paralleled Adam’s physical ones nicely:  

i) fellowship with God – He was literally God on earth, walking with men; 

ii) cultivate the garden – birthed the first church;  

iii) be fruitful and multiply – died in order that all mankind (Jews and Gentiles) may become sons;  

iv) rule over the earth and all that’s in it – all in due course as per John’s Revelations. 

Finally, let’s look at two innocuous-appearing adjectives that are recurrent in the book of Genesis: “good” and “wicked”.  It’s probably natural to assume that these words describe innate character but apparently, they also apply to functionality. Creatures and processes that adhered to their divinely bestowed functions are described as good (Genesis 1) while a perversion of original function is repeatedly described as “wickedness” (Genesis 6:5; Genesis 13:13).  

Where does all this lead?  The functional aspect of our divine purpose is rooted in our fellowship with God and advancement of His kingdom on earth. We’ll do well to avoid the distractions of modern living and make out time to function as He wants us to.  

What is man that You are mindful of him, 
And the son of man that You visit him? 

Proverbs 8:4 

“I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless 

Genesis 17:1b 

 

Reference: 

https://publications.morningstarministries.org/word-for-the-week/four-purposes-man