Eternity in Our Hearts

Man is unlike all other created beings.  Sometimes humans are touted as the "top of the evolutionary ladder," but it does not take a PhD to see the the distance between the rungs of primates and humans is an impossible jump.  Man is a world apart in complexity, thinking, morality, philosophy, technology, and especially spiritually.  Human beings are more than beasts, even if we choose to act like them or are deceived to think somehow, someway, we share ancestry with them.

The Bible says God made man in His own image and breathed into Adam a living soul.  He was formed out of the dust of the ground, not from some lesser species.  The distance between the rungs of man and beast is an eternal expanse, impossible to navigate through the sheer force of natural selection.  Solomon wrote of God and men in Ecclesiastes 3:11:  "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end."  God has put eternity in the hearts of men, an awareness of time and eternity no other created animal has.  We realise our time on earth is limited.  Our eyes have been opened to consider the implications of space and time.  We wonder what will happen after we die.  Animals do not "think" or have such longings for knowledge of the future, nor do animals care to enshrine the past.

My son is spending a week at Macquarie University working in the museum with antiquities.  He has been learning how to handle these valued  treasures carefully to preserve our connection with the ancient world.  Apes, elephants, cats, snakes, or chickens have no appreciation nor concept of history or the distant future.  We view many animals as "smart," and some are very clever - as far as animals go.  But in comparison to human beings there is an infinite difference.  There are no chimpanzee philosophers, musicians, historians, or lab technicians.  Apes cannot study music theory, biology, theology, chemistry, or even participate in physical education with small children.  But to only look what apes can and cannot in relation to mankind would be an extremely narrow approach.  The most critical difference between animals and people is how God created us.  There is a spiritual aspect - a soul - God has put inside every human being.  He has given us a conscience, a sense of right and wrong which agrees with the truth of God's Word.  God has put eternity in our hearts and a complexity of thought, the capacity for artistic expression, and knowledge of time like no other created beings on this earth.

A dog's life is governed by breakfast time and dinner time, but humans realise we only have twenty-four hours in every day, seven days in every week, and fifty-two weeks in every year.  People agree with the statement in the Steve Miller Band song "Fly Like an Eagle" which says, "Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin', into the future."  The older people grow, the faster time seems to go.  This reality concerns humans deeply, but animals pay it no mind.  There is no growing sense of urgency in the life of a dog or cat as their years go on to accomplish something more significant than existence.  The Bible which tells us of God creating man reveals all people will stand before God and be judged after our lives on earth.  Animals will not face this judgment, for they do not have in them a soul with the capacity to understand, think, feel, and know as man does.  The scriptures say the wages of sin is death, and the soul that sins will surely die.  Should we die in our sins, humans will face eternity in hell separated from God forever.  Yet because of God's great love for us, He made a way all can be saved through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.  This is called the Gospel, the Good News.  People are able to enter into the joy of the LORD and everlasting life when they believe God's Word and rely upon Jesus for salvation.

To say Jesus was only a man is like saying man is just another primate.  Jesus has been revealed from heaven as the Son of God, Immanuel - God with us.  The one true God put on human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ to reveal the way of salvation to all who would believe and receive Him.  Matthew 16:24-26 reads, "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ²⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"  Jesus laid down His life on Calvary's cross, then rose three days later proving His power over sin and death.  The human soul provides an awareness, a startling knowledge that there is something beyond this life.  Instead of worrying about the future or ignoring those feelings, trying to convince yourself that heaven and hell are not real, look to Jesus Christ as your LORD and Saviour.  Open a Bible and read His words for yourself.  You are more than a monkey, and Jesus is more than a man.  Trust in Him today!