Time Travel, Anyone?
Friday, September 22, 2023
“The greatest faith believes in the One who knows the future, rather than seeking to know the future before choosing to believe.” – Os Hillman
As a boy, one of my favorite TV shows was the short-lived Time Tunnel. It starred James Darren and Robert Colbert as two scientists who become time travelers as part of Project Tic-Toc. Produced by Irwin Allen, the series also featured Lee Meriwether, Whit Bissell, and John Zaremba in supporting roles.
Each episode opened with the following narration: “Two American scientists are lost in the swirling maze of past and future ages, during the first experiments on America's greatest and most secret project, the Time Tunnel. Tony Newman and Doug Phillips now tumble helplessly toward a new fantastic adventure, somewhere along the infinite corridors of time.”
Some of the historical events that Tony and Doug visited included the Alamo, Pearl Harbor, Custer’s Last Stand, the sinking of the Titanic, and the French Revolution. However, even though they knew what was going to happen and could have acted to prevent it, they were forbidden to intervene by the project’s directors. That order was especially problematic when Tony had to watch his own father die on December 7, 1941.
If we could travel into the past, we might be tempted to change some things in our own lives as well as in world history. By the same token, if we could travel into the future, we might be able to save some lives by preventing a disaster from happening. Conversely, people motivated by greed might use that advanced knowledge to invest in the stock market or to gamble on sporting events, certain of the winners.
The fact remains however, that we live in the “here and now.” As such, we cannot change the past nor can we accurately predict the future. But we can place our faith and trust in Jesus, who is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last (see Revelation 22:13).
As Dr. King once said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” But God does because He is timeless, so trust Him today… and with all your tomorrows.
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 (BSB)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
