I certainly hope the title of my article caught your attention. I wrote it that way to create curiosity and cause you to read what I believe to be one of the most important pieces of truth that we all must face in the present. When it comes to reflecting upon the intersection of people and time, most don't. I know I haven't for decades. So why, then, is it vitally important for the body of Christ to pay close attention to this matter? Well, perhaps you've heard it said that there's no better time than the present. I agree. But I'd also like to add my own twist to this proverb:
There's no better present than time.
When I was a child, and then a teenager, and then a student in college, I never assumed that the family, friends and close relationships that I enjoyed would be changed or altered anytime soon; after all, I had all the time in the world, right? My subconscious expectation was that my world would stay roughly the same as it had ever been. But the reality is that, as I've aged, I've found my subconscious to be wrong on several levels. I've had many discussions with other adults about how fast time seems to move the older one gets and it feels true. We hear as first-time parents how "kids grow up so fast" and when we have planning meetings at work someone's always surprised that "it's Spring already" or someone blurts out, "I can't believe we're already into the month of May!" What is sobering, and what is altogether unnerving, is that time marches on--whether we want it to or not. It's not that time is against us, it's just that time offers itself day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute, moment after moment and is, quite consistently, the same.
So perhaps our focus shouldn't be on time moving so "fast," but instead on how we must adapt to time and make the most of it in the present.
There are two Greek words for time used by Bible teachers. One is "chronos," the type of clock-time that we are used to, the ticking of the seconds that happens even as you're reading this sentence. The other word is "kairos" and it means "opportunity to seize the moment." So the question for you and me is, "How do we maximize the chronos moments of our lives without forfeiting the kairos moments?" Moreover, it's critical that we interpret this question in terms of our own call to Kingdom service here on earth: "How will we make the most of our opportunities to love God and love others in the present?" and "What must I do to be aware of the gift of time God's given me so that I can make the most of every opportunity to honor Christ?"
Now, here's where the rubber meets the road. What I'm about to say I trust will cut to the core of who you are and cause you never to look at the intersection of time and people in the same way again. Allow me to explain. Just a couple of years ago my wife reminded me that our daughter had about 10 years with us under our roof before she'd head out to college. I heard what Mandi said, but I wasn't truly listening. After all, 10 more years of Finleigh in our house felt like a long time. But Mandi was exactly right--just a few days ago our daughter turned 12 and will graduate from high school in six years (shocking to me!). In just a few days my father turns 80 years old. I know my dad is fairly healthy, but I also know the reality that life is slowing down for him (and mom) and that his days on earth are shorter than they've ever been.
Now, let me pause and make it clear that I'm not sharing all of this to be a killjoy. I'm not writing all of this to depress you. I'm not communicating any of this to promote despair. In fact, I want to write this to all of you because I believe there is such amazingly, astonishingly good news in this truth about time and relationships--so you need to hang on just a bit longer! Trust me! God's wanting to speak to you and me about how we are to order our days. Here goes:
Since there's no better time than the present, use your time as a present to yourself and to those you love (and even to strangers). The apostle Paul writes in Eph. 5:15: "So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do." In other words, maximize your "chronos" (clock time) with special moments of "kairos" (seizing opportunities). Consider these questions:
Have you written that note to that friend you haven't talked to in months? Do it now. Have you texted your grandmother to see how she's coming along? Do it now. Are you putting off a phone call to someone who's been struggling with faith? Call this person up today. Are you wanting to take that special trip with your family but keep coming up with reasons not to go? Maybe it's time to sit down and plan it this week. Do you have that entrepreneurial dream that you believe can take off but lies and shame keep you from getting it off the ground? Tell Satan he's a liar and write your business plan this weekend! Are you content to keep up that emotional wall between you and your sibling, even if you could redeem the time now and rebuild your relationship? Why not try to repair it today? Have you delayed telling a loved one how much he/she means to you because you feel your love should be assumed? What will you regret if that person never knew of your love at all? And, most importantly, why wait to grow more deeply in your relationship with Jesus when the Savior has so much for you to see and experience today, in this present moment, with him? Don't you know he has plans to use and bless you in this very moment?
Jesus knew best about the places where time and relationships meet. He seized each moment to reflect God's glory in the way he spoke and in the way he acted. He planned each day carefully but left room for plans to change, especially if those plans involved healing others' broken lives (think Mark 5, when he sailed across the Sea of Galilee just to heal a man possessed by demons, or when he healed a woman who'd been bleeding for 12 years, or when he raised Jairus' daughter from the dead or when he called down Zacchaeus the tax collector from that Sycamore tree to have supper at his house). Jesus always welcomed the interruption in life as a "kairos" moment. In fact, the entire 3-year ministry is a precursor to the Holy Week commitment he made (including his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane) to maximize the clock-time in favor of saving God's people from sin and death. He kept telling his disciples that he would be arrested and crucified and then would be raised to life in three days. He planned well and he accomplished all that he and the prophets before him said he would accomplish. Jesus knew that his time on earth was holy and precious, and he intended to seize every moment possible to bring hope, mercy and salvation to those who were open to the love of the Savior.
Friend, your time and your relationships are precious, too. This isn't about getting anxious and worried about whether or not you'll have time to serve your family, friends and neighbor in love but it is about realizing the blessed opportunity (kairos) you've been given to utilize right now. Time is a gift to be managed, and since we are stewards of God's gifts, we must honor them with respect and dignity. You and I are called to thrive and flourish in the moment instead of wasting what's been given us. To this end we can honor the time (chronos) for God's best (kairos) so that all of us will represent Jesus' mission and purpose carefully and effectively. So don't feel guilty--we've all wasted time when we could've been investing our best into the lives of others. You can, however, feel excited and joyful about the time that you do have, even now, and the opportunities you have to maximize your loving service for God and God's Kingdom in the present. In my opinion, this word about time and relationships is a gift of Christ's grace to you and me. How we respond to this gift of God's Word today will determine the blessings that we will reap as a church, both in our current fellowship and with those in the community we're called to serve.
So go ahead and don't put off for tomorrow what you can seize today (carpe diem). When your motive is to love God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength it will be very difficult for you to mismanage the way you use your time on behalf of relationships. After all, the more we invest in the people around us, the more others will want to do the same in their relationships. This means that time will be redeemed in ways that allow love to forgive, reconcile and restore.
And honestly, I can't think of a better way to use our time than to love the ones we're with--right now. Yes, time marches on, but we can choose today to make the most of our opportunities. Satan wants us to waste the time we've been given; God knows we can make a fool of the Enemy by subscribing to the following truth:
There's no better time than the present, but there's also no better present than time.
As a United Baptist Church family, I say we take advantage of the "chronos" so we can maximize the "kairos" in all of our relationships. Since the world is evil, every moment maximized for Jesus covers the darkness with Light. Let's use our time to shine, friends!
Gratefully rethinking my "chronos" in view of God's "kairos",
Pastor Will
><> John 3:30 <><
