The groans of the dying rise from the city,
    and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.
    But God charges no one with wrongdoing.
Job 24:12 (NIV)

My thoughts feel kind of disjointed this morning. Oh well.

I had a great conversation over morning coffee with my friend Matthew yesterday. We began to press into the concepts of time and eternity as God reveals it in His Message. I don’t often stop to realize how transformative the concept of eternity truly is. I say I believe in eternity, but I wonder if I truly comprehend what that should mean to my daily life.

If I believe in eternity, I realize the span of my earthly life is a mere speck on a time line that goes on forever.

If I believe in eternity, I will invest time, energy, and resources in matters of eternal value.

If I believe in eternity, I know that this life is a mere shadow of what is truly real.

If I believe in eternity, I know that all suffering is momentary in a grander scheme, including injustice.

I returned to that conversation in my thoughts this morning as I mulled over Job’s observations. I do not have to look farther than my television or smartphone to be confronted with the hard realities of suffering and injustice. I can scroll, click and view it in the palm of my hand 24/7/365. It’s depressing and it lends itself to the feelings of hopelessness and despair that Job communicates. But, then I found myself thinking about eternity once again.

Eternity does not negate pain or diminish the feelings and emotions which emanate from suffering and injustice, but it does provide context. My suffering is a small part of a larger reality which I cannot fully see or perceive in this moment. Faith in eternity as God reveals it transforms my suffering from senseless to purposeful, even if I can’t quite grasp exactly what that is amidst the painful chaos of this moment in time. That’s what faith is: evidence of that which I cannot see.