Thought- God works outside the confines of time and space that constrain us mortals.
Scripture- “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. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.” -2 Peter 3:8-10
Insight: In day 29 of learning to apply biblical principles to our daily life, what we are referring to as Practical Christianity, let’s consider the many aspects of time from a Christian perspective that greatly influence our daily decision making. Time is the most precious of all commodities. We only have so much of it, we can never get it back, and we don’t know when our time on earth will run out. Time can seem endless, or it can feel like we are constantly rushed, and never have enough of it. King Solomon, the richest man to ever walk the earth, was aware of the importance of time. In Ecclesiastes 3, He implores us to use our time wisely, to realize that God is in control of all things for eternity and to use our time allotted to us on earth to make a difference by glorifying God with our lives. We can spend our time, or we can invest our time. The main difference between these two perspectives is one if selfish and one is selfless.
Time requires us to prioritize what we value. You can always tell what someone values most in their life by how they spend their time. You can’t fake showing up. If something is important, you will make time for it. This point causes me to continually reflect on and adjust how I am spending my time. The Bible gives us God’s roadmap on how best to use the time allotted to us. We should “seek him first” according to Matthew 6:33. When we do, He has a way of ordering things in our life and supernaturally brings us more peace and pleasure in all our pursuits. I used to think I had no time for fitting God into my busy schedule. That revealed a deeply flawed mindset. Once I began to not only create time for Him, but prioritized and expanded my time with him, only at that point did my life begin to radically change for the better. The Bible then points us to the importance of family. In fact, there are over 205 references to “family” throughout the Bible. Being a good parent requires time spent. Kids can’t raise themselves on their own, God expects us as parents help guide them. 1 Timothy 3:4 says “He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.” If God and family aren’t where we are prioritizing our time, then we are not using our time as wisely as we could. I see so many people today who use their time to do nothing but chase riches. They forgo many more important things such as time with their children or spouse or friends or relaxing by chasing after the wind, in a desperate attempt to gain satisfaction through temporary wealth, which is pure folly according to King Solomon. Of course, money and work are important and necessary parts of life. But they need to be put into their proper perspective. At the end of our lives, we will need to give account for how we spent the time we were given. Did we spend our time chasing after the wind, or did we invest our time in things with eternal value? Time is elusive and fleeting. Invest it wisely or spend it poorly. Those are the choices that we make every day. God is not constrained by time like we are, as 2 Peter 3:8 reminds us above “with the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day.” Therefore, we must make the most of the time we have been given, keeping our eyes on things that have eternal value rather than a “chasing after the wind.”
Prayer: Father, help teach us how to not just spend our time, but to invest our time in things that truly matter, things that have eternal value. Help us to seek you first in all things, and to prioritize the things that matter most to you in our lives. We ask for your guidance and wisdom in making these decisions daily. Amen!
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