Fathers, Children, and the Tyranny of Time

   In his 1948 essay titled “On Living in an Atomic Age,” C. S. Lewis wrote, “If Nature is all that exists—in other words, if there is no God and no life of some quite different sort somewhere outside Nature—then all will end in the same way. . . . [But] Nature is not the only thing that exists. . . . And that explains why we do not feel at home here. A fish feels at home in the water. If we ‘belonged here’ we should feel at home here” (Present Concerns, 93, 99). Lewis called this “the tyranny . . . of time” (Reflections, 201), by which he meant that “we are so little reconciled to time that we are even astonished at it! ‘How he’s grown!’ we exclaim, ‘How time flies!’ . . . It is as strange as if a fish were repeatedly surprised at the wetness of water. And that would be strange indeed; unless of course the fish were destined to become, one day, a land animal” (201).

   Lewis also asked, “If you are really a product of a materialistic universe, how is it that you don’t feel at home there? Do fish complain of the sea for being wet? Or if they did, would that fact itself not strongly suggest that they had not always been, or [would] not always be, purely aquatic creatures? Notice how we are perpetually surprised at Time (‘. . . Fancy John being grown-up and married!’) In heaven’s name, why? Unless, indeed, there is something in us which is not temporal” (qtd. in Vanauken 93).

   Of course there is “something in us which is not temporal”! “[H]e has put eternity into man’s heart. . .” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Our mortal body and our emotions (cf. Romans 8:23; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:10), as Job, are challenged by the brevity of life and the swiftness of the passing of time (cf. Job 7:6-7; 9:25-26; 14:1-2). “[W]e bring our years to an end like a sigh. . . . [T]hey are soon gone and we fly away” (Psalm 90:9-10). James asks, “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (4:14).

   There are numerous implications in what Lewis calls this “tyranny of time” concept and these implications relate to various relationships one has in life on Earth. As I write and publish these words, for obvious reasons, I am giving thought and application exclusively to fathers and children. Such involves a two-sided coin. First, there is the application of a father’s awareness of time as it relates to him and his children. Second, as time passes, and the children mature, they learn how time is involved in their relationship with their father.

   One of the greatest gifts a father can give a child is time. Samuel was a great prophet and a great man. However, I wonder about something. The Bible says, “And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in those places. But he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there” (1 Samuel 7:15-17). Furthermore, the Bible says, “But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice” (1 Samuel 8:3). Was the best of Samuel’s life spent in helping others with their problems, while his boys were growing up without him, except when he “returned to Ramah, for his home was there”? I do not know the answer. Perhaps those boys may have turned out bad, in spite of their father’s best efforts, as kids sometimes do. However, I do remember a preacher of the gospel whose son was asked: “Did your father try to influence you to follow him as a preacher?” And the son answered, “When I was growing up, I didn’t see my father enough to influence me one way or another!”

   Christine McNamara poignantly has implied the lesson in the following:

There’s a magic moment sent down from the sky,
Descending so stealthily, it almost passes me by.
It may be in the morning, or the late afternoon,
Or sometimes after midnight, when the cow jumps over the moon.
Come, play with me.
Your presence is requested at a banquet for a bear.
The giraffe and the tiger insist you be there.
Please, hurry daddy, the tea is getting cold.
And you are getting old.
She brightens me with sunshine twinkling from her eyes.
She captures me with silence and playful long good-byes.
It’s I’ll see you alligator, after while crocodile.
Watch my special cartwheel;
Let’s be buddies for a while.
And come, play with me.
The giraffe and the tiger insist you be there.
Please, hurry daddy, the tea is getting cold.
And you are getting old.
Come stay with me, play with me, daddy please. . . .

    The other side of the coin is implied in some powerfully penetrating questions asked by Joseph to his brothers. Joseph had been sold into slavery by those very brothers. He was taken to Egypt where he rose to great heights in the government (cf. Genesis 37, 38-41). A famine came to the land and all countries came to Egypt for food. Providentially, Joseph was in charge of the food distribution (cf. Genesis 44:53-57). His brothers were sent by their father (Jacob) to Egypt for food. On a second occasion, they return to Joseph, whom they did not recognize as their brother, but he, knowing them, asked the above referenced questions. The Scriptures report, “And he inquired about their welfare and said , ‘Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?’”—I have given thought to those questions during parts of the last 47 years. It has been that long since my father died. It seemed way too soon when it happened. Although it’s now been 47 years, it still seems it was too soon. There’s a line from a song that was popular some years ago. It says, “I wasn’t there that morning when my father passed away; Didn’t get to tell him all the things I had to say. . . .” I know what the writer of those lines meant. I have felt it for 47 years. I wish I could call him today and wish him Happy Fathers Day. We could talk. I would ask him for advice; talk Bible with him; share the sermon with him that I hope to preach on Sunday; “Brag” to him about my kids—his grandchildren, great grandchildren, and now even great-great grandchildren! So much catching up to do! So little time to do it!

   C. S. Lewis was right—“We are so little reconciled to time.” Why? There is “something in us which is not temporal”. Ultimately, we have been made for another world. What a world that will be. The Scriptures call it “glory” (cf. Romans 8:18; Hebrews 2:10, et al.). Although there are many details I do not know, I know the gospel proves the reality of it. How precious and certain is the content of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Acts 17:30-31; 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 and other great biblical texts! In the meantime, I will cling to these inexhaustible texts while knowing also that “the memory of the righteous is a blessing” (Proverbs 10:7). I will praise God with thanksgiving that it is the case that “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers” (Proverbs 17:6).

 Charles C. Pugh III
Executive Director

Works Cited

Lewis, C. S. Reflections on the Psalms. The Inspirational Writings of C. S. Lewis. New York: Inspirational, 1987.

- - -. Present Concerns. Ed. Walter Hooper. New York: HarperCollins, 1986.

Vanauken, Sheldon. A Severe Mercy. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1977.