Into the Eternal Moment: A Brief Look at the Soul's History and Destiny

By Malcolm Lyons

"What is man that thou art mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:4)

Amazed by the splendour and vastness of creation, the Psalmist wonders why man specifically is favoured and blessed by God. What made him think that God is mindful of man?
Could it be our likeness to God? Or, that we alone are well-equipped, physically and intellectually, to be stewards of creation? Perhaps, it was an awareness of our wonderful purpose that evoked his wonderment?
With the help of scripture, 'Into the Eternal Moment: A brief look at the Soul's history and destiny' explains the reason for our existence and brings to light the Creator's intimate involvement in helping us realise our life's purpose.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781922788498

Book preview

Chapter 1

THE BEGINNING

Think about this for a while: By the end of the day, with knowledge of materials and the natural laws, humanity will have created millions of products. It will have assessed, planned, discussed, and executed many plans. Some of them will have been simple, but others rather complex.

Humans will have manufactured thousands of phones, planes, computers, cars, trucks; built numerous bridges, roads, houses, workshops, transport and communication networks; drawn plans for thousands of projects; installed new lights in houses, swimming pools and high up in tall towers; and planted numerous plants. And, so much more.

We could express this magnificent work in one word: awesome.

All in one day, one twenty-four-hour period!

Now imagine how much more could have been accomplished had humans been taller, stronger, faster, wiser, and unconstrained by time and gravity. Like the heavenly beings, the host of angels! That would be mind boggling, would it not?

This exercise might enable some to appreciate the amazing happenings depicted in the story of Creation in the book of Genesis.

Others might ask: why would it?

Well, if we, with the restrictions just mentioned, could accomplish so much in any single day, imagine how much more the Almighty God could have created in that same period considering that He does not have our earthly limitations. Even time would not be a limiting factor. In Psalm 90, we read that for God a day is like a thousand years. Wow! Imagine that amount of time in just one day!

In the Genesis account, which had no pretence of being a scientific presentation, the heavens and the earth were created in several stages in an orderly manner. All the elements and the laws governing them were, by God’s design, in existence. So too were plants and animals. Only the Supernatural Creator of all these wonders could have packed tremendous planning and activity into one single day. It was one masterpiece after another, one day at a time.

It would have been an absolutely amazing spectacle. We are told that God looked at it and said that it was Good.

It was during this beginning that God took some earthly dust, shaped it, and breathed the breath of life into it and Man became a living soul. This breath infused divine-like characteristics in man.

According to Genesis, this beginning of human history, took place in a beautiful Garden. It was an environment in which peace and harmony prevailed. A paradise!

Genesis also gives us some important details about this living soul which tells us how privileged he was.

Firstly, we are informed that Adam was created in the likeness of God. He was, as we could see, a triune being with -

•an intelligent Mind which enables him to plan, to assess and to create,

•a biological Body with which the workings of the mind are made manifest and implemented, and

•a discerning Spirit that can appreciate what is right and good.

Secondly, Adam and Eve were made male and female to complement each other beautifully and meaningfully.

So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.

– Genesis 1:27-28

There is a perfect oneness and a wonderful purpose in the male and female union, which we call marriage. This important and unique union is blessed with the capacity to reproduce more human souls and thus to sustain the human family.

It is because of this marriage that we still exist today. This is why we need to acknowledge and honour this feature in our nature.

Thirdly, we were made to be stewards of God’s creation. We are equipped physically and mentally to perform the task well. In addition, Job reminds us that we have the spirit that enables us to appreciate what is right and good.

But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.

– Job 32:8

Adam knew that God wanted this ‘right and good’, along with love, to truly reign in the Garden. This man would, no doubt, have made some observations about the characteristics and behaviours of living and non-living things. Let us not forget that he had an intimate relationship with God, who is, of course, the greatest teacher. The Lord would have conveyed to him much knowledge about plants and animals and made him aware of the inherent physical laws that helped maintain order in the physical world.

It must be admitted that not everything was under control. Man, after all, has a free will. He can choose from several options that are available to him.

To help humans make the right and good decision, God guided them with certain dos and don’ts. He placed them in this paradise and asked them to enjoy it, to look after it and to be creative. As we saw, humans were well endowed to perform these tasks.

Besides caring for the flora, Adam and Eve were asked to be good stewards of the fauna as well.

Beauty, peace, harmony, and joy could very well define the natural environment.

In this Garden, there was a tree which had fruit that appeared to look delicious. Adam was warned about the tree and was asked to refrain from eating its fruit. This was a thou shall not which Adam and Eve had to deal with.

They clearly knew that it was right and proper to do certain things, while there were actions that were clearly wrong.

All the instructions they received helped to guide them, to keep them going on the straight and narrow.

So, we see that Man was well blessed and, being wonderfully designed, had the capacity to make this world a better place.

But was man created solely to make the world a better place?

Or was man created for a grander purpose?

Chapter 2

THE FALL

Self-gratification is the prevailing trend in our world. Drugs, greed, promiscuity, and exploitation of the weak are commonplace activities. Also of great concern is the presence of sectarianism, ultra-nationalism, and some beliefs, religious as well as atheistic, which drive many fanatical followers to bomb, rape or kill those who do not belong to their groups.

It was not always like this.

We know that in the beginning when God brought the world into being it was good. Peace and harmony reigned. Adam and Eve, who were blessed by God’s presence, honoured His call for them to love and to respect everything in this beautiful world and to be its responsible stewards.

It was a simple, uncomplicated religion that conditioned their rich and meaningful life.

However, as we saw,