Racing Time

Artist’s concept of a gravity probe circling Earth to measure the space-time continuum in vicinity  (“four dimensional” description of height, width, length, and time), Source http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/gpb/gpb_012.html, Author NASA (PD)

Scientists and mathematicians have long wrestled with the question of time. The formula some may remember from high school algebra for deriving time from speed and distance dates back to the ancient Greeks, if not before [1]:

Time = Distance/Speed

The field of quantum physics continues to explore the almost unimaginable complexities of time today:

• Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity explains gravity as a feature both of space and time (the “space-time continuum” often mentioned on Star Trek).
• Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity holds that time slows as an observer approaches the speed of light [2].

The related formulas stagger most of us. We, however, wrestle with time in our own way.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4: 7).

Lord God, so often in our lives we must race against time. You, of course, have all the time in the world. You made time, and will someday – when time has outlived its usefulness – roll it up, like a ball of yarn.

Time though is important to us here on earth, Lord. In fact, we are trapped by it.  We rush to keep daily schedules and make multiple deadlines. So many priorities – all requiring our attention. Sometimes it can feel as if we are being torn in two.

And time is precious. Our children will not stay young for long. Only yesterday they were learning to walk. Soon enough they will be off on their own, focused on friends and the world at large. None of us knows how long we have, ourselves.

We love You, Lord, despite our pre-occupation with the race. Help us remember it is Your course we are running. Protect and guide us, that we may finish as Your good and faithful servants.

Amen
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[1] Though the Arabs are frequently credited with inventing algebra (and the name is Arabic), archaeologic evidence suggests that this branch of mathematics actually originated in Babylon. Others who contributed to the field, along with the Arabs and Greeks, include the Egyptians, Chinese, and Indians.

[2] It was, in this connection, that Einstein discovered the relationship between energy and mass (Energy = Mass x Speed of Light squared), making atomic energy and the atom bomb possible.

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