In the Presence of Eternity

When humans search for images of strength, we often think of mountains (for example, “I lift up my eyes to the mountains”/Psalm 121). They are so massive, unmoving, and enduring—or so it seems. In A.Word.A.Day on March 30, 2020, Anu Garg offers a different perspective:

It would appear that mountains or hills have been around forever, but most are relatively young. Take the Himalayas ...they are only about 50 million years. Compare that with the age of the Earth, about 4.5 billion years. Another way to understand this is that if the Earth were a human, the Himalayas would be a one-year-old baby. As the lawyer and orator Robert Green Ingersoll once said, “In the presence of eternity, the mountains are as transient as the clouds.”

In these days of trial and suffering as a result of the COVID-19 virus, it is important to remember that we are in the presence of eternity. As the prophet Isaiah tells us, “Though the mountains may be shaken and the hills removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you” (Is 54:10). Not even mountains can capture fully the height and depth of God’s unfailing love and compassion for us.

Although we are confined to our dwellings these days, we can still take a step back and look at our present reality from the perspective of eternity. As St. Paul reminds us, “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13:13). Let us become what endures by practicing love so God’s covenant of peace can be fulfilled.