Just in Time

What if you received a message from your future?

Denzel Washington starred in a movie called Dejavu, subtitled, “What if you could change the past?” He portrayed an ATF agent investigating the horrific bombing of a ship docked in New Orleans. Technology based on quantum physics enabled an investigative team to view a slice of time prior to the explosion as if it was still happening, so they could apprehend the bomber. Denzel ends up altering the past, thus saving many lives.

The movie is based on an impossible premise — changing something that already occurred. We see the past as history, fixed and unchanging. We envision a future with many possible outcomes. It is only in our present where we can make different choices. What if you had inside information; if you could see signs pointing to a better way and took a different direction?

The past is fixed. The present is now. The future is fluid. Would making better choices today, from your future self’s perspective, amount to changing your past? Yes. I believe I can improve my tomorrows. I could save money, learn new skills, pray, eat right, or exercise more.

Albert Einstein, the brilliant thinker famous for E=mc2 (energy equals mass times lightspeed squared), gave us more than nuclear energy or space travel. He gave us the key to quantum physics. He showed us that mass and time and energy are all related. The faster you travel, the slower time moves. Gravity bends space-time. The universe is stranger than we thought.

Now, let’s use our imagination. Suppose that you received a letter from beyond time, a letter that communicated key information that would alter your destiny. What would you do with it? Would you believe it? Would you act on it? Some of you already have done precisely that.

Jesus told his disciples, “I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He.” (John 13:19) In the Bible, revealing information about the future is called prophecy. Jesus was a prophet, although he was so much more. He came to earth from beyond time. He could tap into a perspective of seeing the end from the beginning.

If you read the Bible, one purpose of prophecy is not only to predict the future, it is to confirm our faith because the things foretold have occurred. Our faith rests on solid evidence. For example, Jesus told his disciples that he would be killed but would rise again. On the third day, that is what happened. He revealed the Temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. Forty years later in 70 A.D., it happened. Faith in Jesus’ word was confirmed. He is who he said he was.

If the “older you” could send a letter back to the “younger you,” what affect would it have on your life today? (I would congratulate my self for marrying Lana, my wife of 48 years as of June 1.) Would you change any of your ways? Would you choose to live for God? The fact is, we already have information sent to us from the end of time. It is a love letter to humanity, written in holy script, able to be translated and understood by all those who receive Christ.

Ron Wood is a writer, teacher, and pastor. He and his wife, Lana, live in NWA near their two children, Scott and Rebekah, and six grandchildren. Email him at ron@touchedbygrace.org. His latest book, Powerful Fathers, is now available at Amazon.com. For NWADG, May 31, 2017