Time, it has been said, keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking, into the future. One pundit avowed that it was on his side, yes it is. Still others pontificated that to everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season (turn, turn, turn) and a time to every purpose, under heaven. Imagine, if you will, that it could be saved in a bottle; what’s the first thing that you’d like to do? Have you opined, as some have, that you had too much time on your hands? Or contrarily, that there’s no time left for you, no time left for you?
Interesting, at least to me, are the varied ways with which time is measured. From Big Ben in London to the common five dollar alarm clock sold at many retail outlets, much time has been spent on how time is marked and displayed. Because the vast majority of us conduct our lives according to specific schedules, either those we determine or those determined for us by others, it behooves us to know what time it is. And it must be universally mandated, accepted, and implemented, or time is relative. We hear so much these days about speaking “your” truth. Can you imagine if we applied the same ridiculous standard to time?
Boss- “You’re late, Peterson.”
Peterson- “Au contraire, Mr. Dalrymple. According to my time, it’s 8AM sharp.”
Telling it, spending it, killing it, and keeping an eye on it come quite naturally to most. But sadly, so does wasting it.
There are two Greek words for time, chronos and kairos. Chronos refers to chronological or sequential time. A chronograph lets us know what time it is. Kairos denotes a proper, opportune, or memorable time, regardless of length, i.e. let them leave you up in the air, let them brush your rock and roll hair, let the good times roll. I think the following illustration best typifies the contrast between chronos and kairos in a way to which we can all relate. You’ve bought your ticket to the next Night Of Destruction at Orlando Speedworld, which may be weeks or months away. Chronos is the ensuing wait. Kairos, on the other hand, is the actual event, a span of a handful of hours you will never forget. We love kairos time, but experience exponentially more chronos time. What to do?
As it does with everything else that is relevant to our lives, the Bible addresses both the passing of time and its significance in a particular span or season, brief or lengthy. We would do well to consider the following as it relates to time:
- It is finite. Much more sobering is the fact that we really don’t know how much we have. It is not guaranteed. (James 4:13-15)
- God has sovereignly attended that we would be where we are when we are there. In the scheme of the Lord’s providence, we matter. (Esther 4:14)
- It is a valuable commodity. As such, it can and should be used to “preach the good news of the kingdom of God” (Luke 4:43) and in “making disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19-20)
Given that time is as limited as it is precious, that the timing of our existence is purposeful and specific, and that it can’t be bought, we need to prayerfully consider how we can redeem it (Ephesians 5:15).
You might have recognized lyrics from popular songs as I described time above. I recall a song by Pink Floyd called “Time” and looked up the words. Here are a few paragraphs:
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.
So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you’re older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.
Sobering, and should spur in us a sense of urgency (John 9:4). Hopefully these sentiments don’t echo the lament of your soul. But if they do, let not your heart be troubled. You see, as long as we are alive, it is still daytime, spiritually speaking. Regardless of how we started, or how we’ve paced ourselves, we will finish strong as we heed this, the wisest of counsel:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”
Hebrews 12:1-3 ESV