S165P5 – In his hands: time

Jer. 1:4-5

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

If time were a set of train tracks starting at the beginning and ending at the end, we would be passengers on the train.  That locomotive would move in one direction.  Each of us would board at some given point and ride the train for a while before having to disembark.  While riding on the train, we would be able to see what we already passed and a little of what is coming up ahead, but our knowledge would be at the mercy of the train.  God’s perspective would be a bird’s eye view of those tracks.  He would be able to see the beginning, the end, and all points in between regardless of where the train is.  Instead of riding in the train bound by the passage of time, He would be outside the train directing its course.

When we think of God’s omniscience, we might think it is merely a case of foreknowledge.  He simply knows everything that is up ahead as if He can imagine the images of the future.  This might be true if God were bound by time, but we know that He is not.  He created the celestial beings and their way of measuring the days and minutes.  God knew Jeremiah before his birth not because He could see him coming in the future but because He already had seen him.  Before Jeremiah even existed, God appointed him as a prophet, which means that Jeremiah was a prophet before he ever was.  Jeremiah saw himself become a prophet over time, but God knew him as a prophet always.

Sometimes, we make predictions because they seem certain given everything we know at the time.  Our predictions might come true, but they are no guarantee.  On the other hand, God does not make predictions based on what is likely to happen.  God stands outside time and can see what will happen because He already has seen it happen.  It might be a lot for us to try to understand, but that is only because we are bound by time.  It is not that He will know his children once they are born but that He already knows them.  If you are his, you always have been his, and there never was a day when He did not know you.  Father, remind us that everything You have promised us is sure to pass because You already have caused it to be.