measure of time
collection
The Measure of Time Collection is inspired by the miracle of a man being raised from the dead as mentioned in John 11 within the Bible.
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“'Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless, let us go unto him. Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. “
John 11:1,3-4,6,11-15,17 _
What do you do when you feel like God is not moving fast enough? Oftentimes in life, we can face issues where we need God's interference. In Lazarus’ case, he faced a problem that was bigger than himself. He faced a problem that only God could pull him out.... and that was death. No amount of medicine or human intervention could help. As his soul departed from his body, as his corpse decayed in a tomb, and as his family wept over him, Jesus waited. At any moment, Jesus could have come while Lazarus was still alive on his sick bed to provide him with a healing miracle, but instead, Jesus waited to show up when he was already four days dead.
What seemed like an unfortunate and deadly delay, proved the very nature of God. Sometimes God does not come when you want Him to. Sometimes God lets things die in your life to show that He alone can resurrect any dead situation. Jesus told his disciples “I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe”. In those moments of hopelessness when it seems like no help is coming, just wait. When God is taking His time to answer, just wait, it is a test. In the moments of waiting, God has already provided the miracle that you need, but He is testing your faith to see if you have the ability to patiently endure the trouble or to see if you are going to give up and doubt. Romans 5:3-5 says, “...but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed...” If we correctly learn from the tribulations that often arise, it should teach us to first have patience. We must hope and wait for the resolution. But during those tribulations, we develop a personal experience of what to do and what not to do. This refines our character, making us more mature. Using both experience and patience, we can apply that to any other tribulations that will catch us by surprise throughout our lives. And since we have already gone through the experience of a dead situation, we now will have hope that God can resurrect any dead situation because we have the experience of Him doing it before.
The family of Lazarus gave in to the tribulation. They accepted the reality of death, even though they knew what Jesus was capable of and had witnessed the miracles that He had done. They had faith to believe that God could fix other people’s problems but as it pertained to their dead brother, they thought it was impossible. One thing I always say to God is; “Lord, do it despite me.” Meaning, Lord do it despite my insufficiency to believe in the impossible. And that’s exactly what he did for Lazarus.
“Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”
John 11:38-44
With all that being said, what do you do when the Lord tarries? Wait. And in your waiting, pray earnestly for the guidance and counsel of the Lord. And when He answers, whether it takes four days, four years, or forty years, just know that good things come to those who wait.
“For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.”
Isaiah 64:4
For this collection, I began to research ancient sundials since it speaks to the concept of “waiting on the Lord” and the process of time.
The sundial was a device known as the earliest form of timekeeping in history. It tells the time of day by the position of the shadow of some object exposed to the sun’s rays. As the day progresses, the sun moves across the sky, causing the shadow of the object to move and indicating the passage of time. From about 2000-1,500 BC, the Egyptians began dividing the days and nights into 12 almost equal parts. This division of time has remained until today, after being adopted by the Greeks and later on by the Romans. The Greek version of the sundial was in the shape of a Hemispherical. As the shadow line travels horizontally throughout the day, indicating the hour, its length indicates the date.
The side tables and plinths are inspired by the forms and imagery of these ancient sundials as well as other architectural forms that showcase the sun’s time-telling ability.
