Dec
27
Past Performance
Filed Under Devotional
You have probably seen or heard this disclaimer on advertising for investments: Past performance is not indicative of future results.
This is lawyer-speak saying that the investment is not guaranteed. It isn’t a sure thing. Investments aren’t sure things because the world of high finance involves innumerable people all injecting their intelligence into the system. That makes it unpredictable because we have never been able to predict the results of a single intelligent agent with perfect accuracy.
The only things we can predict with perfect accuracy are things that we are confident that we understand completely that are governed by natural law. Then it’s just math.
This, of course, is why so many scientists have concluded that there is no God. They have become so used to the idea that everything around them is predictable. All of creation is the result of laws and constants. If it’s all predictable, then there is no controlling intelligence. The problem here is that they mistake large numbers and long distances for infinity. They have decided that because it has never changed in hundreds of years, it never will.
“First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this “coming” he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ ” 2 Peter 3:3-4
These scoffers have made the same mistake. Long periods of time are different than infinite time.
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” 2 Peter 3:8
Stand firm. Don’t be fooled. The performance of the past 2000 years is not indicative of future events. He could return tomorrow. Don’t assume anything contrary.