10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
God not only pushed the plunger on the Big Bang, but every aspect of creation and non-creation are the brainchild of God. There is reality apart from this creation. Before God created this universe, He existed. To call where He existed “a place” would be to impose our human understanding on the infinite being of God. God does not need a ‘place’ in space and time. He is beyond both. For us, we live moment by moment, and our lives are viewed by us as a collection of memories and experiences. That is one of the reason Alzheimer’s is so devastating. Those who suffer become someone they were not before. Their place in space and time gets lost. They don’t have the collection of memories that helps anchor them in relationships with family and friends. Even their connection with the present moment can get lost. But God exists apart from this limitation. He does not need time in order to exist and be fully integrated with Himself and the universe He created. He does not need a physical space called His, because all space is His. His presence permeates everything, everywhere, at every time. As Abraham was called by God to leave his family and country, he left behind his ‘space’, his former connection to people, place and events, because God gave him a glimpse of something much better. Many individuals who serve in the military have difficulty adjusting to civilian life following years of service because they do not know how they fit into this new place. There is no rank or rules that give the security of knowing how things work. No regulations or Field Manuals. No uniforms or formations. They must learn to fit into a new place, civilian life. Abraham recognized the temporary nature of his new surroundings because God gave him a picture of heaven, his permanent new home. One of the joys of being a Jesus-follower is the fact that we get a glimpse of our new home, heaven. We get to experience the presence of God in doses sufficient to confirm heaven’s existence, glory and the certainty of our place in it. We gain a new perspective on the sufferings of this life. They are only temporary because we have a place reserved in heaven.
The Arnold Journey 