What If…?

Yes, I know worrying about “what if” something happens, etc. is definitely counter-productive. In fact, Jesus reminds us in Matthew, chapter 6, about the reasons we don’t need to worry, weighing ourselves down with anxious thoughts.

This blog post is about a non-anxious type of “what if.” I read a quote by Albert Einstein recently that piqued my interest. He believed that our idea of Time segmented into Past, Present, and Future is an artificial one—that Time, instead, is a vast continuum. With that in mind, I pose the question: what if we could travel back and forth in what we label the Past and the Future?

The reason Einstein’s quote so interested me is because I have been fascinated with  the topic of time travel for many years. Apparently, many other fiction writers have also found the idea intriguing. For instance, Diana Gabaldon wrote the “Outlander” series with her main character moving from post WWII Scotland to the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie and Culloden (and other eras). She utilizes a boulder in an ancient stone circle--a crack in Time-- to transport her characters. Randy Ingermanson, a physicist/ Christian fiction writer, uses “worm holes” to transport his characters back to the time of Paul, the Apostle in Roman Palestine.

Actually, I can see my fascination with time travel exhibiting itself in an interest in historical characters, starting with Biblical characters, such as the women mentioned in the Gospels and most recently in delving into the character of Deborah, the Old Testament judge

My next journey “in time” will involve going back to the Civil War era and imagining what my great-great grandmother might have experienced as she watched her love go off to war. That was just the beginning of a very eventful life for her and I truly anticipate getting to know this kinswoman. I have no letters of hers and only one indistinct picture of her in a group. It is amazing, however, to see how much information can be obtained from reading family obituaries as well as newspaper clippings of the day plus studying the current events during that period.

All of this to say, I am being granted the gift of “time travel” by obtaining answers to my “what if” questions during the time I study. Of course, the time travel is in my mind, but perhaps that is what time travel is all about???

Since the Bible tells us a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day to God, I would nominate Jesus as the ultimate time traveler.

I would love to hear your thoughts and comments regarding this concept.