OP-ED: A SMIDGEN IS A UNIT OF MEASURE
Psalm 90: 4 “For a thousand years in thy sight are but yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.”
By Van Yandell
Anyone that considers themselves a southern gourmet cook knows what a smidgen is. It’s like a “bit” or a “pinch” or a “tad.”
At any rate, a smidgen is a legitimate unit of measure south of the Mason-Dixon Line. As of yet however, I haven’t seen a spoon in a measuring set with such an amount. We simply have to guess or use our best judgement.
Measurements in time and materials control us. We are in bondage to watches, clocks and calendars. Flight schedules, work time clocks, even time settings for distance determine our every movement.
Some web sites and other publications are now adding “read time” to articles.
Many in today’s world if asked a distance answer the question in minutes. How far is it to the next town? “Twenty minutes.” “At what speed” would be a reasonable response.
Could a carpenter build a house without a tape measure? Could a cook bake a cake without measurements? Of course not!
We are physical beings. Our life span, the years of our marriage and the ages of our children are all stated in numbers. Doctors weigh us when we go for a checkup. The results of our blood tests are stated in numbers.
We “count heads” for attendance and count how many were saved (received Jesus as Lord and Savior) at a crusade or on a mission project. Numbers are important to us.
The number of believers is surely important to God. Second Corinthians 5:15 “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”
Second Peter 3: 8 “But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day with the Lord is like a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.” God is spirit, infinite and eternal.
So, why is time irrelevant to God? Because He is infinite and eternal! If we speak of eternity concerning God, we must not only look into the future but also into the past.
If God will always be, He must have always been. Many astronomers and other scientists want to assign numbers to the existence of the sun, earth, galaxy and the universe.
Many make a useless debate of how old the planet or universe is. The distance across the Milky Way galaxy is (we’re told) 100,000 light years and the universe is 97 billion light years across.
Should we really be concerned with the distance to Mars or Proxima Centauri? Our individual curiosity factors want to know some things and for many those distances are intriguing but inconsequential in our everyday lives or our eternal destination.
But what is really important? The Bible teaches we have an eternal soul. No one has ever seen such a thing. No one has ever died and come back to report Heaven or Hell, except in order to write a book or movie script.
No one knows where the eternal soul resides; if it is asleep, concealed in a body cell or flows through ones veins or central nervous system.
The Bible tells us to believe through faith (Ephesians 2: 8). Faith is believing in something that cannot be proven or common sense tells us it cannot be true. Faith is a steadfast belief that something is true.
Can we understand in a world of skepticism why so many are turning to non-belief?
A question asked was, “Why do you believe in God?” Can anyone give a logical or reasonable explanation for why we exist?
To believe something came from nothing (on its own/spontaneous generation) or that order came from chaos, takes more faith than believing in a Creator God.
Granted, religionists cannot prove God but the evidence is overwhelming. How much evidence does it take to make a fact? The answer to that is with the individual.
The non-believer must also ask the question “What if I’m wrong?” Whereas there is no (court of law) proof of God, there is no such proof of evolution.
The non-believer must think we, the planet, the atmosphere, the universe came from somewhere. Since there is no such thing as spontaneous generation of matter, where and how did all things begin?
What make sense to you? Why do you exist? Why do we think, have emotions or die?”
Our Creator (John 1: 3) was also subjected to numbers. He was born the person Jesus 2026 years ago, lived to thirty-three years of age, was on the cross for six hours, in the grave three days and lived after His resurrection for forty days before ascending into Heaven.
Even Jesus can’t get away from measurements and numbers. So, how long is eternity? The most reasonable answer is “It’s a time that cannot be measured!” As a smidgen cannot be measured, neither can eternity.
Proverbs 3: 5 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Is our ability to think a curse or a blessing? Whichever it may be, we must not let it mislead us.
An old Cherokee proverb states: “There is a fight like two wolves going on inside you, one is evil; one is good.” The question asked was, “Which one will win?” The answer: “The one you feed!”
The Bible teaches there is only one eternal salvation. That is by a faith based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) that Christ Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (Romans 4: 25), resurrected (Matthew 28: 6) and ascended alive into Heaven (Acts 1: 9).
Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and missionary. His email is vmy3451@gmail.com
