Older Than the Hills

Bible Reading: Hebrews 1:8-12

“Look at this, Grandpa,” said Jonah. “It almost looks like this stone is rotting away.” Jonah was helping his grandfather in the garden and had found a strange-looking stone, full of tiny holes. “Hey—maybe this is a fossil! I saw a TV show about them.”

Grandpa took the stone and looked it over. “Maybe you’re right,” he said. “So what did you learn about fossils?”

“I learned that when a living thing, like a plant or an animal, is buried in mud or clay for years and years, the material around it gets very hard as time goes by,” replied Jonah. “Then the plant or animal dissolves away, leaving openings right in the hardened material. Those openings are exactly the shape of the plant or animal that has disappeared.”

Grandpa looked at the stone again. “I think there was a plant in this one,” he said, pointing to the imprint in the stone. “See the leaf-shape here?”

Jonah nodded. “This has gotta be real old,” he said. “As old as the hills—that’s what I’ve heard people say.” He grinned at Grandpa. “How old is that? As old as you?” he teased.

Grandpa grinned too. Making his voice shaky, he replied, “Oh, not nearly that old.” They laughed together, then Grandpa said, “Actually, we don’t know for sure exactly how old the hills are, but God knows. He existed long before the earth or anything in it.”

“Yeah. He’s older than anybody, isn’t He?” Jonah said. “Even older than Jesus.”

Grandpa disagreed. “No,” he said, “Jesus is God too. He was right there when the earth was made. Jesus, along with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, made the earth and everything in it.”

“But Jesus was born in Bethlehem,” objected Jonah.

“Yes, He was born as a baby many years after the earth was made so He could save us from sin, but before that, Jesus was up in heaven,” Grandpa explained.

“He is eternal. That means He has no beginning and no end because He is God.”

Jonah furrowed his eyebrows. “That’s hard for me to understand.”

“For me too,” Grandpa said. “But I’m so glad we serve an eternal God who’s greater than we can comprehend.” • Carolyn E. Yost

How About You?

Is it hard for you to understand things about God? Some things are hard for anyone to understand—even Bible scholars and pastors. As you grow older, you’ll learn more and more, but there will be many things you won’t fully understand until you see Jesus face-to-face. Until that day, thank Him for His greatness and for loving you so much.

Today’s Key Verse:
John 1:3 All things were created through [Jesus], and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. (CSB)

Today’s Key Thought:

Jesus is eternal