Eternity in our hearts

"God has set eternity in the human heart" -- Ecclesiastes 3:11

Paradiso, Canto 34 by Gustave Dore (1868)

"Eternity" in Hebrew means "endlessness" or "beyond time." It means we sense a reality that exists outside of time and we long for it. Nature has no experience of eternity. All of our experiences are in-time, bound by the limits of this world. And yet, we long for something beyond the limits of this world. Love without parting. A final triumph over evil. The reconciliation of all things. The healing of all wounds.

If this world is all there is--then why do we long for things that do not and cannot exist? Ecclesiastes tells us we cannot escape our knowledge of God. It is imprinted in our hearts. And if we follow our deepest intuitions, they will lead to God. We can only be satisfied by Him.