Entry posted by dljbsp in Perspective
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Two lightning bolts strike. To Albert Einstein, this was more than a storm; it was a thought experiment that cracked open our understanding of time. He imagined two bolts flashing at opposite ends of a railway. To a person standing on the platform, the bolts might flare at the same instant. But to someone speeding past on the train, one flash comes first, the other a beat later. Which is correct? Both. Einstein’s lesson was that simultaneity is relative. Two observers can watch the same world and yet disagree on what happened “at the same time.” There is no single, universal, “now.”
That’s a dizzy thought. We like to believe the universe keeps a tidy calendar, that its seconds march in lockstep like a parade. Instead, relativity shows us that time is elastic — stretched and squeezed depending on your point of view.
But isn’t life like that? Two people sit in the same meeting. A kind word lands as encouragement for one, but it triggers an old wound in another. To one, the moment is filled with warmth; to the other, with pain. Same event, different timing inside the heart.
Physics says simultaneity depends on where you stand. Experience, says the same.
Take rainbows. If you and I stand shoulder to shoulder, we do not see the same rainbow. My rainbow is stitched together by drops of water aligned with my eyes, the sun, and the sky. Your rainbow is stitched by droplets aligned with yours. We can nod and say we’re seeing “the” rainbow together — but in truth, we’re not. Mine is mine. Yours is yours.
We’ve explored that in depth before, in A Rainbow of Wonder: Understanding How We See Color. But here, the rainbow reminds us of something subtler: Jehovah is not just Creator of physics. He is Witness of perception. He knows what my rainbow looks like, and what your rainbow looks like. Each is personal — a covenant bent in light for the individual.
And the reaction to that rainbow is just as personal. For me . . . I often pause in reflection . . . letting it register as a moment shared . . . between Jehovah and me. (Don’t worry, you will have your moments!) Sometimes I remember it is his reminder, a sign he placed long ago. But for most people, seeing a rainbow is pure awe. They’re not analyzing it — they’re lost in it. Or they’re thrilled, quick to share it: a picture, a shout to a friend, “Hey, look out the window!” Still, in that instant, their thinking is personal. Their rainbow is theirs.
Let’s go back to our opening scene — the railway and the lightning.
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One brother blurts something sharp. You hear only the sting. Jehovah hears the sting too — but also the knot of fear in his chest that made him lash out.
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A sister breathes slowly, folding her hands, speaking with restraint. Jehovah sees not just her composure but the storm she silenced with prayer before she opened her mouth.
- A child laughs at the wrong time. You hear rudeness. Jehovah hears innocence and sees the ache it causes in another heart.
From our seat by the tracks, events flare at once, or out of order, or not at all. But Jehovah sees not just what happened — he sees the frame of reference. He knows how trauma, fatigue, or discipline shaped each reaction. He reads the rainbow that only you could see.
And if his vision holds us in these personal moments, how much more when he speaks of time itself?
And that is where scripture steadies us.
The apostle Peter wrote: “
One day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8, NWT). To us, time stretches or contracts, moments drag or vanish. To Jehovah, there is no distortion. His frame of time is perfectly clear.
The prophet Habakkuk heard Jehovah’s reassurance: “It will not be late” (Habakkuk 2:3, NWT). To us, fulfillment may seem to stagger, promises may appear delayed. But Jehovah is never behind schedule. His timing is exact.
And through Isaiah, Jehovah declared: “My thoughts are higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9, NWT). To us, reactions are tangled, perceptions collide, motives get misread. To Jehovah, every angle is visible. His perspective rises higher than ours.
So the wonder is this: Jehovah doesn’t just hold the cosmic master clock. He holds yours. He knows exactly why the lightning strikes looked simultaneous to you but not to your neighbor. He knows why the rainbow you saw was different from the rainbow another saw, and why both mattered. He reads your timing, your perception, your frame of reference — and he judges with perfect compassion.
When you feel misunderstood, remember: “No creation is hidden from his sight” (Hebrews 4:13, NWT). He is not fooled by appearances. He knows why you said what you said, why you broke down or held back, why your “now” doesn’t match someone else’s. And still, he bends the light of his promises so that you can see a rainbow meant just for you.
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