I Can See Eternity from My House

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God – 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

The Greek word transliterated “aion” appears frequently in the New Testament, something like 128 times in 102 verses, according to Strong’s Concordance.  For those playing along at home, aion has the Strong’s number of 165 or G165, G for Greek.  It is derived from another word that means perpetually, incessantly or always.  In the good old KJV, aion was most frequently translated as “ever” – as in the Lord’s Prayer:  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  Amen  (Matthew 6:13 KJV).  The second most popular translation in the Authorized Version is “world”:    And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come  (Matthew 12:32 KJV).  In my ESV and other modern versions, the phrase reads:  either in this age or in the age to come, but the ESV uses "world" other places as in the verse at the top.

The basic definition is given as a) perpetuity of time, an eternity, or forever; b) the cosmos or “worlds”; c) an age or an indefinite period of time.  For those who are geeks rather than Greeks, one might think in terms of Tolkien’s ages of Middle Earth which vary in length of years but have marked beginning and endings usually involving cataclysmic events such as the destruction of the One Ring.   Beyond that, the idea of an age is somewhat similar to the useful German word zeitgeist, the spirit of the times.  An age denotes the way of thinking, perceiving, and understanding reality that dominates during a period of time.  On www.bibletools.org, I find a quote from Richard C. Trench that sums it nicely:    . . . all that floating mass of thought, opinions, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims and aspirations at any time current in the world, which is impossible to seize and accurately define, but which constitutes a most real and effective power, being our moral or immoral atmosphere which at every moment of our lives we inhale, again inevitably exhale.

Our “world” is in large part the way in which we interact with it.  It is a little like an operating system on a computer.  One OS may be more powerful in certain areas, another may be easier to use while another may make some otherwise difficult tasks trivial.  Each OS interacts and controls the same physical machine, yet the user of a given system is more or less oblivious to the underlying structure and functionality. 

Apart from the horror that was Vista, most of us as computer users are content with what our operating system gives us.  The same seems to be true of most people in the world.  We are either happy with our world, or we think we have no other option.  Would it not be sad to have Vista as our only choice?  Many have thought for a long time that Bill Gates was the devil.  He’s not, or he would have stopped after foisting such a demonic system on the masses. 

But there is a devil, and he is the god of this aion, that is, of the system of perceiving and interacting with the cosmos that blinds unbelievers and deceives them into thinking that the gospel of Christ is a delusion, that nothing exists except the seen.  As long as we use the devil’s OS, we are going to have a hard time getting to the truth.  The very first step is to understand that … we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.  For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).  

My wife has a desktop that came with Vista installed on it.  She has been using it for several years while I told her repeatedly to spend a buck and get Windows 7 (which she runs on her laptop) or something else.  Finally, after the box had simply refused to boot for weeks, she let me install Ubuntu as a demo.  After she played with it a little, she allowed me to install it on a partition alongside Vista.  I am pretty sure, once she gets used to it, she will become an open-source Linux fan-girl.    

The old pagan world had us view ourselves as transient creatures created for and driven by the whims of a myriad of capricious, petty gods we might placate or enlist on our behalf with the appropriate sacrifice or service.  The modern, materialistic world has us viewing ourselves as slightly enlightened animals driven by instincts, trapped in a deterministic universe where we have no choice except to pretend we have a choice and no escape except death.  Our purpose is merely to survive and propagate our genetic material.  (I’m sure a materialist would object to “merely”, but there it is.)  

The gospel teaches us something very different -- that our purpose transcends the boundaries of our material existence on this planet, that we are the children of God, adopted in Christ Jesus, our lives filled with meaning and significance.  We learn that we are free to make good choices (and, by extension, bad ones), to live lives of holiness and righteousness filled with peace and joy.  We are more than our possessions and our achievements.  The marks that we make do not depend on length of life, the number of patents we hold, or the number of children we have.  We will be rewarded in eternity – a new age – based on our faithfulness and obedience. 

A couple of years ago, I wrote about a child who was born and lived for only a few hours.  In the view of this aion, his life was a waste and should have been terminated in the womb, for the parents knew his condition some weeks before his birth.  Nevertheless, I know his brief existence here was but a steppingstone, a poignant prelude to his real life.  During those few hours he did his job of wounding hearts – and do not ever doubt that there is such a needful calling, and a very high calling it is.  Those who can fulfill it are rare and wonderful.    

The zeitgeist is everywhere.  The pressure to conform, to fit into this world system, this aion, is very powerful at times.  Our jobs, our friends, our families, the aches and pains in our physical bodies, the television, the internet, shoot, sometimes even our churches all tell us:  this is it.  Get it while you can. 

But if I can just stop running, I might find out what is behind me.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life … And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. *

* Some assembly language (also known as “revelation”) required.  Thank God for His grace. 

How I Spent My Winter Vacation

I didn't really take a vacation but I did have to take a couple of days off last week. I finally gave up, went in, and had my eye fixed. It turned out to be a very fast procedure. For one thing, there was no general anesthetic. I was pretty relaxed and pain-free but fully aware of what was going on through the operation. I could hear the little ultrasound thing that broke up the old lens. When the doctor slipped the new lens in place, I could instantly see the lights above my eye. I'm sure if I hadn't been a little dopey it would have been freaky. As it was, it just seemed pretty cool.

A half hour later I walked out the door and was on the way home. I ate a little, drank a couple of cups of coffee and fell asleep for three hours. The next morning I went in to have it checked and could read the 20/30 line on the eye chart. I think I could read the 20/20 line today. My distance vision is very sharp.

The only negative is that I quickly realized how dark and foggy my other eye is becoming. It isn't nearly as bad as the other one was before I had the surgery, but the doctor says these cataracts can advance quickly. It was certainly the case with my left eye. I first noticed a little "smudge" on one part of my visual field -- like my glasses had a fingerprint on the lens -- less than a year ago. By last week, I could see only vague shapes and color, light and dark. I was, essentially, blind in my left eye.

I probably won't be cleared to drive until Friday, although I can certainly see well enough to pass my vision test without glasses today. I won't get new glasses for about four weeks. Though my distance vision is near-perfect, my arms aren't long enough to read with the new eye. Fortunately, the original equipment eye still works well enough close up.

...'Til Somebody Puts Out An Eye

Nahash the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”

Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I’ll make a treaty with you on this condition: that I gouge out everyone’s right eye and humiliate all Israel” 1 Samuel 11:1,2


Most of us, I would like to think, are born with something like full spiritual vision. It does not take long, though, for the world to begin its work of blinding us to the Real. Putting out the right eye leaves us with a flat, two-dimensional view of things. Life, according to the prince of this world, should have no depth and no meaning. The devil will lock us up inside our own heads and let us go mad as circular reason spirals in, ever tighter.

The enemy comes up threatening and intimidating. I think perhaps compromise is the best course. All I have to give up is one eye. Is it really that big of a deal? What good are two eyes when you are dead?

It is worth considering in this context that Jesus said, “If your right eye offends you, put it out. It’s better to enter the kingdom with one eye than to go to hell with both.” The difference is that Jesus is speaking metaphorically. Ray Charles was blind and couldn’t leave the girls alone. Jesus uses the concept as another way of saying, repent, turn away from the economy of the flesh and die to it.

But the enemy wants me impaired, confused and helpless. Nahash, at least, had the audacity to state his purpose: to “humiliate all Israel” – and, by extension, to humiliate the God of Israel. It’s one of the problems with proclaiming I am a son of God; it draws the whole Family into whatever mess I get myself into.

That’s also the good news. There is a “rest of the story”.

Saul had just become king over Israel and he had not gotten on the path to destruction as yet. The men of Jabesh-gilead sent word that they were in trouble. When the king heard it, he was plowing. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he hacked an ox into twelve pieces then sent a piece to each of the tribes. No RSVP invitation, it was show up or else. Then Saul sent back a message to Jabesh. “By the time the sun is hot tomorrow,” he said, “you will have help.”

So it was that the king went up, took out Nahash, and delivered Gilead from the Ammonites.

I have a choice every day. I can listen to the world’s deception and lose the better part of my ability to perceive the Real, or I can call upon my King and Elder Brother to stand with me. He will not fail me or forsake me. It doesn’t matter that I am somewhat of an outlier, that I am perhaps not all that I should be, He will show up when things get hot.

But what if I have compromised in the past? What if I am already blinded?

As Tolkien said, “The hands of the king are the hands of a healer, and so shall the rightful king be known.” Reading in the Gospels one cannot help but think there were a great many blind in the days of the Lord’s earthwalk. When they encountered Jesus they did not remain blind.

If I call upon Him, my blinded eye will be opened, my sight will be restored, and my deliverance will be complete.