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Thursday, April 22, 2010

Eternity, how long is it?

blogger i am grateful -- Kerry i am asked for a definition of forever.

This is not a definition, and it's not original with me. I don't know where I heard or read it, (probably in a sermon) but I think it bears repeating, so here goes.

Suppose that there is a ball of iron, as large as the earth.


Suppose that, every 100 years, a bird flies past this ball, and barely touches it with a wing tip.


When that bird has finally worn away the entire ball, eternity will have just begun.

Thanks for reading. Perhaps you have a better definition/example. If you know a source, I'd appreciate it.

6 comments:

Weekend Fisher said...

I heard a "Chinese saying" version once where instead of an iron ball it was a crystal mountain, and the bird was specifically a humming bird with a strand of fine silk in its beak, and it brushed the crystal mountain with the silk thread ...

And likewise I have no earthly idea where I heard the thing. I was little at the time. It's been awhile. :)

Take care & god bless
Anne / WF

Martin LaBar said...

Ah. So I'm not the only one who has heard something like this. Thanks, Weekend Fisher.

Matthew Tietje said...

I have heard it as follows:
A sparrow makes its way across the country from the East Coast to the Pacific ocean and fills its beak with water, flies back to the Atlantic and dumps the water - repeats until the Pacific is dry, then carries it all back.

Isn't it amazing how there are things we cannot comprehend - things that are impossible to wrap our minds around. Earlier this week I was reminded again of the expanding universe (Red Shift...). I can understand in simple theory, but the more I think about it, the more incomprehensible it all becomes.

Martin LaBar said...

Thanks, Matthew.

If we could comprehend all this, we'd be God, I guess.

i am Grateful... Kerry i am. said...

Awesome... speechless...

Martin LaBar said...

Yes, Kerry i am. Speechless.