Article November 12, 1984 Issue

Father Time and Mother Nature—man's parents?

LOWELL N. CANNON

In an interview prior to the opening of a football season, a veteran running back was quoted as saying: "I don't think I can carry the load at 31 like I did at 26. My father and mother—I'm talking about Father Time and Mother Nature—are telling me I may not be able to handle that now."

Doesn't this statement raise a question that, because of its far-reaching implications, we all need to consider seriously—namely, whom have we adopted as man's Father-Mother?

To material sense it would certainly appear that man is the offspring of Father Time and Mother Nature, that he is created and controlled by laws of time and matter. Mother Nature depicts the sometimes beautiful but often unpredictable and unmerciful nature of the physical world. Father Time, characterized as an old man carrying an hourglass and a scythe, personifies the temporality and finiteness of human existence. An apt description of the progeny of such parents is found in the book of Job: "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down." ^{Job 14:1, 2.}

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Father Time and Mother Nature—man's parents?

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access