The Good Life in Time

December 2022

“What, after all, is time? Who could explain it easily and briefly? Who could grasp it so as to express it in words, or just comprehend it through cogitation?” (360). Augustine’s words in Confessions are almost a lament: a protest against our inability to fully understand a constantly changing aspect of the cosmos. For better or worse, humans live lives governed by time. Psalm 90 says, “All our days pass away under your wrath. Our years come to an end like a sigh” (ESV). We realize that our days on earth are numbered, and we recognize that mankind is in a state of perpetual pursuit. We long for truth, goodness, joy, love. In his article “You Are What You Love,” James KA Smith claims, “Our wants and longings and desires are at the core of our identity, the wellspring from which our actions and behavior flow” (3). Our telos motivates our actions. Although we have a vague idea of the ultimate object of our desire and the limited time we have to obtain it, people are often uncertain about the steps they should take to progress towards their unseen goal. What is the most optimal way for humans to pursue their desire for perfection and excellence before “the grass withers and the flower fades?” How shall we live the good life in time?

"Mankind is in a State of Perpetual Pursuit."

The author of Ecclesiastes asserts an intricately woven hypothesis which describes a way in which to live the best life in time. In chapter 3, he writes, “[God] has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.” The author acknowledges the temporality and mystery of creation, then concludes that enjoyment of God’s creation through works of virtue and labor is the best method for living the good life on earth. I believe that Ecclesiastes' interpretation of the way in which to live an unsurpassed life on earth closely relates to Augustine’s desire to understand how to reorient our actions and thoughts to eternity. It is important to recognize that the dilemma of life after death and the immeasurability of time in the world ensures the lack of a simple explanation for what life in Christ should entail. N.T. Wright knows the truth about eternity, and recognizes that it changes the paths of individuals hoping to live a good life. “One day the veil will be lifted; heaven and earth will be one . . . But if that is where we’re going, what road must we take to get there?” Our understanding of our time on earth should be transformed by our knowledge of God's everlasting kingdom. Specifically, biblical truth about eternity and time gives meaning and purpose through the spirit to our learning, community, and life in Christ as a whole. We can live the good life by exploring God’s creation through the spirit while ultimately pursuing a life with Jesus in the New Creation.

Upon initial analysis of different writers’ opinions on pursuit of the good life, it seems as though they disagree about the way to integrate learning into our pursuit of happiness. Is the good life able to be taught? Some authors firmly encourage everyone to obtain a liberal arts education, and support the idea that the good life should be sought after through learning. In his article The Countercultural Quest of the Christian Liberal Arts, Jeffery C. Davis writes, “[A liberal arts collegiate experience] is an education that develops your God-given traits and capacities as a person, preparing you to serve effectively in a number of life roles” (41). Davis points out the benefits of well-rounded learning in everyday life, and makes it easier to see how the liberal arts could enhance our ability to imitate Christ’s servitude. However, this part of his analysis doesn’t designate God himself as the primary objective of a broad scope of study. The connection to a desire for God in the good life is hidden. By contrast, when Arthur F. Holmes is trying to decipher Augustine’s position on a liberal arts education, he notes that the ancient scholar’s work emphasizes pursuit of the creator himself rather than creation. “On the Good Life argues that true happiness lies in possessing the good rather than in endlessly pursuing it; that is to say, it lies in finding God, the truth, and the wisdom that comes from him” (Holmes 25). Holmes claims that Augustine is advocating for God’s presence as the teleological nature of mankind, and at first his argument appears to reject an ongoing search for happiness in the form of knowledge. It is not difficult to provide biblical support for this position; Colossians 3:1-3 says, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” However, later in Building the Christian Academy, Holmes points out that “a doxological refrain pervades Augustine’s Confessions; every good he experiences and all the truth he learns come ultimately from God and are occasions for praise” (26). In other words, our pursuit of God through the truth and wisdom he created is an opportune way to search for the good life. Love for God and interest in creation’s phenomena are not mutually exclusive. In fact, learning plays a role in our spiritual formation by illuminating our calling. Thomas Merton says, “Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny . . . We should actively participate in His creative freedom, in our own lives, and in the lives of others, by choosing the truth” (32). Listening to God, searching for Wisdom, and looking for ways to use our gifts for his glory is the best way to fulfill his desire for our intellectual development.

"Love for God and interest in creation's phenomena are not mutually exclusive."

Given the benefits of a Christ-centered liberal arts education, in what way should a knowledge of eternity affect our learning? Being eternity-minded is essential for the way that God intends for humans to explore his creation. Philip Ryken’s Liberal Arts in the New Jerusalem tells us that “If liberal education promotes “the good life”, it will find its apotheosis in the eternal kingdom of God, which is truly ‘the best of all possible worlds’” (300). Eternity presents us with a reason to continue learning: our thoughts and ideas will come to completion and be perfected in heaven!

Another important way in which eternity changes our mindset about the present lies in the realm of community. According to Stanley J Grenz, “The central motif of biblical eschatology is the assertion that the triune God is at work in history affecting the consummation of the divine reign by establishing community” (651). The everlasting relationships that will exist in heaven give us hope for our relationships on earth. The progression of time should motivate us to take action in our communities in the present. Martin Luther King Jr. laments the abuse of time in relationships on earth in Letter from a Birmingham Jail: “More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will . . . The time is always ripe to do right” (606-607). When people are gathered together, the way they choose to inhabit the present is important. Thankfully, a path is offered through scripture; God’s desire for the good life in a Christian community is manifested in the church. Paul calls Christians to imitate Jesus’ servitude during our life with other believers. After the resurrection, human relations will be perfected. N.T. Wright says, “The new creation which gives shape to all truly Christian living, points [to] . . . the joy of relationships healed as well as enhanced, the joy of belonging to the new creation” (234). Our efforts to maintain healthy connections with other individuals is based on a longing for the New Creation’s perfect social order, where the church is unified in Christ.

"God's desire for the good life . . . is manifested in the church."

Although the necessity of an eternal mindset in learning and community is evident, the constant pursuit of a flawed version of eternity often seems futile. “There is none who does good, not even one” (Psalm 53:3). Why should we continue to strive towards perfection that is not attainable on earth? If we focus our attention on the end of time, learning how to live in time can be difficult. How should we continue to live for the future without abandoning the present? Justo L. Gonzalez explains the answer to the dilemma in Mañana, his article about the new creation and its relevance to the present. “If, by the power of the spirit, we are a pilgrim people looking forward to the coming reign of God, we had better begin practicing the love of that reign –we had better begin organizing our loves according to the new order that we know is coming and that we proclaim.” In short, through the spirit, our lives should serve as a rehearsal for our praise in God’s approaching kingdom.

Finally, as we consider how to live the good life in time, eternity’s effects on our life in Christ should be the most important consideration. Augustine says, “When I seek you, my God, I seek a happy life. Let me seek you so that my soul can live: my body lives from my soul, and my soul loves from you” (304). If God is our telos that enables us to live a happy life on earth –and we can only find the total fulfillment of his presence in the New Creation– we should long for Christ’s return even more. Kevin DeYoung tells us that “The moral project for a Christian is to die to the old self and rise to a new life in Christ” (20). If our true future and hope is in the New Creation, the suffering (death) we experience in this life should serve to remind us of our impending resurrection with Christ. Jesus is the way (the “path” NT Wright was looking for), the truth (the final object of our learning journey that we can never fully understand), and the ultimate good in this life.