"Only An Incident"
"To the writers of these letters this present life was only an incident. It was lived, with a due sense of responsibility, as a preface to sharing the timeless life of God Himself. To these men this world was only a part, and because of the cumulative result of human sin a highly infected and infectious part, of God's vast created universe, seen and unseen. They trained themselves therefore, and attempted to train others, not to be 'taken in' by this world, not to give their hearts to it, not to conform to its values, but to remember constantly that they were only temporary residents, and that their rights of citizenship were in the unseen world of Reality. Today when all the emphasis is thrown upon making the most of this life, and even Christianity is only seriously considered in many quarters because of its social implications, this point of view is comparatively rarely held. Yet as we read what they have to say we may find ourselves saying a little wistfully, "Perhaps these men were right."
-J. B. Phillips, Translator's Preface in "Letters To Young Churches"
This quotation from a twentieth-century writer presses beautifully the deepest conviction and most solemn certainty of those first-century Christians. And it is the still abiding assurance and anchor of all twentieth-century believers to whom Christianity has leaning and vitality. Christianity is NOT a philosophy or guide to a "way of life" on this earth except as such a philosophy or way of life prepares and fits one to share in that timeless eternity with God Himself.
How trivial and inconsequential are the things of this earth and of this life in comparison with the eons of eternity! Speculative scientists theorize that our earth may have come into existence perhaps four or five billion years ago, and that our universe perhaps had its origin as much as fifteen billion years ago. Most of which theorizing, of course, is utterly meaningless to us, for it is impossible for the human mind 3 grasp any sense or reality at all as to the meaning of fifteen billion years, or five billion --- or even one billion.
But God WAS fifteen billion years ago, and IS right now, and WILL BE fifteen billion years from now. But there is an awesome (and frightening) sequel or addenda to go with that last clause --- not only will God be alive and functioning fifteen billion years hence (in spite of a spate of recent rumors as to his having perished) but so will you! It is an awesome thing because such a vast reach of time is simply stupefying to human intelligence; it is a frightening thing because whether that limitless (literally) period is one of unspeakable joy or of indescribably horrible misery is a question which YOU must decide within the span of one fleeting split second of time! You don't have long to make up your mind.
Let us translate this into more familiar terms. You are driving a car down the highway. Suddenly you come to a fork in the road, and you must make a decision as to whether you will take the right-hand fork or the left-hand fork. One of these roads leads to happiness beyond the power of man to conceive, the other leads to misery beyond description. If we translate even one billion years of eternity into one billion miles of roadway, and assume that you have one hundred years of earthly existence, you will have to make your final and irrevocable decision before your car has travelled one ten-millionth of a mile! Which means that you have only an inconceivably small fraction of an inch (considerably less than one-one hundredth) in which to make the most fateful decision that any mortal man ever makes.
Truly, "this present life was only an incident" to the apostolic Christians; and it is equally unimportant to all men today who understand the issues involved and who believe the words of Christ. Because we are limited in our understanding and experience, a span of a hundred years seems like a long time; but the older we grow, the shorter seems the span. To a five year old child the time from Christmas to Christmas, or birthday to birthday, stretches out like infinity; but when that child reaches forty, he becomes aware that the period between Christmas and Christmas, or birthday and birthday, has begun to speed up considerably! And by the time he is eighty the years are rushing past like telegraph poles seen from the window of a fast express train.
There is no second chance; there is no place for a correction of error once you have passed the fork in the road. And the moment you die your choice becomes irreversible. You have chosen your road for all eternity --- not for one billion years, or five, or fifteen, but forever. If each second of that fifteen billion years be itself stretched into fifteen billion years, you will be either in heaven or in hell for every single one of those years. And the choice as to which it will be is the one you will have made during the "incident" of your earthly life.
What matters is whether this earthly "incident" be one of happiness or of misery? of wealth or poverty? of success or failure? It is but "the twinkling of an eye", and then cometh the judgment --- and eternity. We are strangers and sojourners on this earth, pilgrims who pass swiftly from birth to death. But by God's infinite grace and mercy this earthly moment provides us the opportunity for infinite and eternal happiness; we have the right in this life to make a choice.
Let every reader search his own heart and life, and make certain that he has made the right choice, and that his life is in harmony with that decision.