If you were to ask people this question, the answer you would get from most people would be “Yes it does.” Although the vast majority of people would agree, and everyone means well, they would all be wrong. Time does not fly by as we get older. It only seems that way. Obviously, just getting older does not give us the power to disrupt the time-space continuum; however, why do we think we can?
Psychologists have summarized five theories:
Theory number 1: We gauge time by memorable events, e.g., first kiss, first day of school, etc. As we grow older we have fewer new experiences.
Theory number 2: The amount of time passed is relative to one’s age. For instance, for a 5-year old, one year is 20% of their entire life. For a 50-year old, however, one year is only 2% of their life.
Theory number 3: Our biological clock slows as we age by some type of internal pacemaker, whereas the external time just appears to go by more quickly.
Theory number 4: As we age we pay less attention to time; e.g., when you are a kid you count down the days until Santa brings you some cool stuff.
As an adult we get involved with paying bills, child care, etc., and the more attention we pay to these somewhat boring adult things the less we notice time slipping by.
Theory number 5: Stress, stress, stress. The feeling of not enough time to get things done seems to take over our personal time clock.
As human beings, we think of time as chronological. God does not. The book of Revelation tells us in 22:13 these words from our Lord: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Jesus is telling us that since He is the beginning and the ending that He encompasses all of eternity and all of time. Jesus also tells us these words, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last, I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. “ So - slow down. Smell the roses. You will be with the Lord for all eternity.
