Dear COA Family,
Have you ever wondered why time travel is not possible?
Please don’t get me wrong… I am not asking this from a scientific point of view – there are probably many theories as to why this is not possible – but from a theological point of view.
What I mean is this: if nothing is impossible for God, why wouldn’t God allow us to travel back to our past, for example, and correct all of the mistakes that we have made? That way, theoretically speaking, we could have chosen to make better decisions and live lives free of the consequences of our sins. The world we live in would be a much better place than now.
All of this sounds fine and good until we come to the realisation that time travel does not deal with the root of the problem. The root of the problem is not actually the mistakes that we have committed in the past, but our sinful and self-centred carnal nature, led by a heart that is “most deceitful of all things and desperately wicked” (Jer 17:9). With such a base motivation, any opportunity for good would turn into an opportunity for greater evil and harm.
Chances are, given the possibility of time travel, many may be tempted to use the opportunity to commit even greater sins and deeds of selfishness, and utilize means to cover up our actions. As for those who have chosen to do good, the chance to go back in time may tempt them to give up their course of action, seeing how much sacrifice it would cost them. (This is also why God does not reveal too much of our future to us – because we are not able to handle the knowledge now.)
Seen in such a light, time travel opens up new dimensions for the propagation of evil, and God has wisely and mercifully decided to limit the scope of human wickedness to a single plane of existence.
Moreover, God has sent Jesus into this present time to deal with the root issue – our sinful nature. He does this by crucifying our old nature to the cross and giving us a new heart and a new spirit instead. He has made us “a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17) and “a kingdom and priests to serve our God” (Rev 5:10).
In conclusion, let us put our trust fully in God’s wisdom and power to save us. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are his ways higher than our ways and his thoughts greater than our thoughts. He knows what’s best for us, and that is all we need to know.
God bless,
Revd Ian