Language Log: Seeing past the moment

Today's Zits: Anthony Clayden writes: It makes no sense to me (BrEng, and just old enough to be Jeremy's grandfather — supposing he really has been 16 years old all this time). Google doesn't enlighten me. (A lyric from a band Lordchain??) Is this some idiom that has passed me by? (Pierce seems to understand it as an idiom.) This phrase seems mostly to come up in a certain range of religious contexts. Thus the pastor at Auburn Grace Community Church wrote: Last month we focused on the baby in the Christmas manger, the God of the universe. That baby was the incarnate Son of God, full deity in bodily form. He could have come to condemn the prostitute, to ridicule the poor. He could have only fellowshipped with the prestigious or royalty. But He didn’t. He reached out to the woman outside the restaurant window, to the lady in need of gas to get home. His heart was touched by their need. I wish I was more like that, looking past people’s condition and wrong choices to care for their soul. I wish I saw past the moment and saw life as He did. The baby in the manger reminds me of the simplicity of life: Love God, love others, all others. It’s really that simple. From a book called Do You Remember My Name?: When God Seems Distant: Sometimes people will speak to you based on where they are — She, Rachel was in pain so she wanted it to be known. Pain had been her condition; it should not have been placed on her child. Unfortunately, this is the case of many today; because of their turmoil, many are made to suffer. If you allow it, of course; thank God Jacob did not. Thank God Jacob saw past the moment, the situation; he dared to see a future for his child. From Born to Be Free: Discovering Christ's Power to Set You Free from a Painful Past: Another key to turning away from sin at a heart level is to project what will happen when the sin runs its course. Ask Jesus to show you the end of the matter if you continue in the sin. Deception keeps us in the moment of a fantasy about what a particular sin will do for us But ask jesus to show you the outcome of the fantasy. Seeing past the moment to the end of the scenario when sin destroys us or the ones we love is a strong motivation for repentance. In the line of song lyrics, there's e.g. "Beauty in the Broken", from Hyland, which Wikipedia describes as "an American Christian rock band originating from Minneapolis": Let me hold you through it Let me carry you I know if feels you're at the end But here your story's just beginning I know your tomorrow I know where you are Though you can't see past the moment I see beauty in the broken And here's a "Daily Devotional about seeing past the moment" at www.find.thepower.com. Maybe Jerry Scott is familiar with this phrase from church-going experience. Or maybe the phrase has moved into other circles. But I agree with Anthony Clayden in finding the linguistic issues in this strip more puzzling than usual. Update — AntC in the comments points out that there was a relevant strip a few days ago: And it's worth pointing out that "living in the moment" is regarded as a Good Thing in certain circles, while "seeing past the moment" is also a Good Thing, but among a different kind of people.