The Terminus of Existence

Setting boundaries is a common expression that we hear almost daily. We hear of our need to set personal boundaries; an invisible dividing line drawn between ourselves and others, a line that represents the point where public space ends and our own private space begins, so to speak.

We also hear of setting copyright boundaries, setting boundaries with our children, setting professional boundaries and so forth. We are all aware of governmental boundaries, state, city and county boundaries, international boundaries, territorial boundaries, air space boundaries, water boundaries, and boundaries of all kinds. Thus, we realize and understand that we cannot escape boundaries. Wherever we go and whatever we do, we encounter boundaries of some type.

The boundary that we hear about less often is the boundary line between time and eternity. Death is the great divide. It is the line that separates the living and the dead. When we cross this boundary, we enter the realm of the unknown. When we cross this boundary, we cease to be inhabitants of time and become residents of eternity.

While living in time, most of us try to respect boundaries as they are set forth by the various entities. Of course, we may overstep our bounds every now and then and suffer whatever consequence it may incur. Yet, we remain in time and continue on with life as usual.

But when we cross the boundary of time, there is no return to life as usual. God has fixed the boundaries of our earthly existence beyond which we cannot pass. Death is not an accident, but the surrendering of life as we know it to Him at His pleasure and by His divine authority and will. This boundary line is the terminus of our time existence.

And so we may as well accept the fact that our life is a steady progression through time. Life is a continual journey towards the terminus of existence. Some of us will go through at an accelerated speed while others of us will journey at a snail's pace but all of us are going towards that terminus of human existence on earth. Regardless of how hard we try to suppress it, evade it, deny it, we cannot avoid it. For every death is the ever present reminder of our own journey's end. With every death, we are compelled to feel how close we, the living, are to the region of the dead. There is only a step between the end of time and the beginning of eternity.

It behooves us then to be concerned about how we use our time while we yet live in it. Eternity is in waiting!

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach which can be reviewed on her site. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, is expected to be available in July.

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