I recently read a story about a $300 million project to lay a new cable under the Atlantic. Not content with the current speed of transmission of electronic data between the global financial centres, this cable is set to make transmission speeds somewhat closer to the speed of light (I won't bore you with the physics).
To cut a long story about a short time down to a small paragraph, the point is that with this new cable 6 milliseconds (0.006 seconds) can be taken off the time for data to transfer between the City of London and Manhattan - allowing automatic transactions to happen that bit quicker and potentially gaining millions for some fund managers by being first to react to market swings. Perhaps I am not the only person to question the wisdom of fast-reacting automatic trades replacing the contemplation, reaction and experience of mere mortals.
Generally my patience extends to more than a few milliseconds – however I expect that there are other areas where a small time is a big deal, with the Olympics arriving in London this year there must be 1,000's of athletes looking to trim milliseconds off their personal best times.
We are so focused on time in our daily lives that sometimes it can be hard to imagine that our God is outside time:
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3: 8-9 [NIV]
Whilst we can't comprehend life outside time, it is refreshing to know that we have a God who exhibits patience - let's not confuse patience with slowness. In our fast-paced instant-gratification world it is sometimes misunderstood that some good things are worth waiting for and that the ultimate goal is eternity.
Lord, help me to learn patience, to appreciate the works of your hands over millions of years and the way your love for me is outside of time. I repent of my sins today, in Jesus name. Amen
Dave MacLellan
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