Henri Nouwen is one of my favorite authors. His gentle spirit and kind heart shine in every word.
I have learned a lot from him.
This is one of my favorite passages, especially as I contemplate life after Dominic has left us.
On the one hand I feel as if I am leaving Dominic behind-time on earth marches on and event after event rolls past without his presence or participation.
On the other hand, I feel as if Dominic has run ahead to our forever home and must be waiting for us as much as we long for him.
But Nouwen’s words remind me that time will no longer be something I think about or worry about once we are all together in the Presence of our Savior.
There is no “after” after death. Words like after and before belong to our mortal life, our life in time and space. Death frees us from the boundaries of chronology and brings us into God’s “time,” which is timeless. Speculations about the afterlife, therefore, are little more than just that: speculations. Beyond death there is no “first” and “later,” no “here” and “there,” no “past,” “present,” or “future.” God is all in all. The end of time, the resurrection of the body, and the glorious coming again of Jesus are no longer separated by time for those who are no longer in time.
For us who still live in time, it is important not to act as if the new life in Christ is something we can comprehend or explain. God’s heart and mind are greater than ours. All that is asked of us is trust.
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