Time a transit to eternity

By: Fr. Roy Cimagala

WE NEED to be clear about this point. Our time here on earth is a time of transit toward eternity, from where we came and to where we are heading. That’s because we are creatures of God who is in eternity. We came from him, and since we have been made in his image and likeness, we are meant to be with him in all eternity.

Our definitive state of life is to be with God in eternity. We, therefore, need to be eternity-ready in our time here on earth. And we can approximate that state of life and prepare ourselves for it by trying to be with God always, following his will and ways as we go through the drama of our earthly life.

We should know how to flow with the times without getting lost along the way. While there are changing things as we flow with the times, we also have to know that there are things that are not supposed to change, that will always have permanent value and relevance to us.

While time is a continuum of the past, the present and the future, we have to see to it that it is meant to catapult us to eternity when everything will be in the present. Eternity is a mysterious state of life when there is no more past or future, no more change, no more transition.

In eternity, everything would be in the present, not in a stationary way but rather in a dynamic way. There is motion and dynamism as is characteristic of life, but there is no more change. Its stability is not a matter of idleness and non-activity.

To the extent that we manage to be with God and go along his will and ways, we would be relating our time here on earth to the eternity meant for us. We, therefore, should avoid being carried away and swallowed by the technicalities of our earthly life, no matter important they are. They should serve only as a means and occasion to be with God in love.

It does not mean that we should not take our worldly and temporal affairs seriously. On the contrary, we have to put all our minds and heart into them since the way we handle them determines the kind of eternal destiny that we will have. They are no joking matter at all. We are asked to be fruitful and productive in this life, but with the proper motive and intention.

For this, we have to continually check if our spiritual and supernatural bearing is still functioning. When driven by faith, hope, and charity, we can manage to convert our worldly and temporal affairs as occasions and means to love and serve God and others.

This may require a certain discipline that we have to learn as early as possible and to polish it frequently, given our condition that is vulnerable to the allurements of the world and of the flesh.

We have to remember that time is short. (cfr. 1 Cor 7,29) We cannot afford to waste time which is a most precious resource we have in fulfilling the ultimate goal of our life.

We need to manage our time well, seeing to it that whatever we do or whatever situation and condition we find ourselves in, we have to be sure that our time is spent in such a way it would bring us to our eternal destiny.

Time management is not only for some engineering projects. We need time management in our personal lives as well, and especially in our spiritual lives, that is, in our life of love with God and with everybody else.

For this, we have to be clear about the real purpose of our life and of how each event, condition and circumstance in our life can be related to that ultimate goal of ours. This is an indispensable skill we have to develop and help everybody else to also acquire for themselves.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com