Eternity

Why is it, that for my entire life I thought that eternity was something that was going to begin later on in my life. It was something that I might possibly earn when I die, or something that would begin when Jesus returned. Did I miss the point of eternity or what? For some of you, you might be saying... yeah duhh, you missed the point... and some of you maybe thinking right along the same side as I have/had. How did I miss such an easy concept? What other concepts are just as easy to understand, but I have not taken the time to learn them. I know that when Jesus was on earth he continually told his disciples who He was and what He was going to do, but never did they fully get it. Until of course there was one day... and all the sudden, I get it! Today, God spoke to me or allowed me to understand that eternity has already started for me. I am already inside of eternity. In fact, God made me and placed me inside this realm of time, which is not easy to grasp. I haven't not always existed for eternity, but eternity began on my birthday and from that day on I will exist for all eternity. Now that is a bold statement, "I will exist for all eternity..." Does not everyone exist for eternity?

From time to time I enjoy reading books and seeing the new videos that Pastor Rob Bell of an emerging church in Michigan produces. A few years back he creatively was able to capture this idea that man has exists in between the trees. There was a tree in the garden of Eden which is called the Tree of Life and this to many represents God and all of life in the garden. Then in Revelation, there is mention of another tree very similar to the first tree, that represents God and life. In addition to what Rob put together, there is another tree in between the trees, in the form of a cross which represents God and life. The illustration leads us to understand that we are currently living/existing in between the second and third tree. Once we reach the period of time where we exist in the same time as the third tree we will be living as Adam and Eve did, and life will be "very good."

Even while in the process of writing this post, or any other time there is a discussion about eternity, I can't help but think that it happens later in life or later in time. What would life look like if I started to live my life in eternity right now. The second tree represents God and life right now. I don't have to wait. If I believed in my heart that my eternity has begun, is that what someone might call living in heaven, on earth? Or could you then say the kingdom of heaven is here, the kingdom of heaven is upon us? As my freind Brian would say, we have now entered into a realm or area that no one can claim they have mapped.