From Rogers and Hammerstein, a song about saying farewell.
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good night.
I hate to go and leave this pretty sight.
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu.
Either you know it, or you don’t.
If you do, you enjoy musical theatre.
If not, you don’t hear it in your head right now.
A long time ago, in a state pretty far from here and in the decade of our marriage, Houston’s Library had a phone line where you could ask a question, and a librarian would give you an answer. Most of the time, they researched and would give you the correct answer based on a book. This was one of those times. A local radio show had a contest with this question:
Where does “west” end and “east” begin?
This question is important as we say Adieu to 2024 and Good Morning to 2025.
The answer was varied. Some said it began at the Royal Observatory in England, where the imaginary Prime Meridian circled the globe North and South. On the one side, it is the “Prime,” and on the other side of the globe, it is the “Anti-” Meridian. This relatively recent (mid-19th century) development gave a central reference point for shipping and timekeeping. The longitudinal line started at 0 degrees and marched around the world for 360 degrees. Think of the 360 compass rose points.
But another answer was gaining steam.
The International Date Line is not at the Prime Meridian. It is halfway around the globe in the Pacific Ocean. It’s not an internationally recognized legal perspective, but it describes the day’s starting point, and the Prime Meridian is roughly 12 hours away from the line.
The Winner? It wasn’t me. The answer came too late for the contest, but the International Date Line was the correct answer the radio station sought.
This brings me to my point.
It’s December 31, 2024, at 7:30 a.m. PST, where I am. The New Year has already happened. Well, only if you lived on the other side of the International Date Line, and it’s midnight or later, as defined by the timekeepers of the Prime Meridian.
I still have roughly 16 hours to go.
Imagine the timekeeper’s nightmare as we constantly change our clocks to meet local time modifications. But the International Date Line does not care. Oh, it shrugs left to right to keep some countries and islands together, but it doesn’t care about the time of the day or if “east” has ended and “west” has begun.
We care about the time. Why?
- New laws go on the books at the beginning of the year, and right now, they are not affecting us. But wait 16 hours.
- The year closes the books on the physical year, and taxes, expenses, and other accounting measures start with fresh numbers.
- If you started a Bible Reading program in January, you have today to meet your goal!
- And for every new day, we’ve gotten older, and with every new year, we are another year closer to our last year of life.
- There are so many more bullet points, but you do get my drift, right?
God first referenced this concept of time on the fourth day of creation.
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.
(Genesis 1:14-15 NKJV)
God said it, and it was so…But God counts differently.
But, beloved, do not forget this one thing,
that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day.
(2 Peter 3:8 NKJV)
For 2024, the 365 days could be counted on God’s Timetable as 365,000 years… Think about it. God has a different timetable! If God created in six days and rested on the seventh day, with this old/new math, we can count God’s calendar as 6,000 years plus the rest day of another thousand years.
I could go a long ay down this path.
I hope you get my drift.
We see a year as being too long,
Or even too short. It depends on us.
But God has a longer view.
He sees our seconds as years.
What we do irrationally,
God deals with it patiently.
But carry this time keeping into eternity.
There is no way to count as God counts.
Where our thoughts and ways are not equal to God,
Eternity has no limit, and we can’t comprehend it.
So. Take the time as we count it.
Use every second wisely.
For an accounting of our usage,
Will someday be judged on a global stage.
Thank you for reading.
Please share with others.
It helps me get my book written!
(Below, you may find other topics similar to this one. Please read on!)