Do you ever catch a glimpse of yourself in a mirror and think, “Wait, who is that old person staring back at me?” Is that really me?
When did *that* happen?
Where did the time go? Maybe there’s something wrong with the mirror. The more likely explanation, however, is that Father Time has played his favorite trick on us. We’ve been fooled into thinking we’ve got all the time in the world, when time, in fact, is our most finite resource.
Look carefully, then, how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. – Ephesians 5:15-16
As if that weren’t sobering enough, James adds:
You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. – James 4:14
Sheesh. I’m just a momentary mist and we’re all gonna die? Got it. Thanks for the feel-good message, James! My readers in their 20s and 30s might not understand how devastating a reality that time’s passing can be. It’s like we spend the first half of our lives trying to speed everything up – Grow up! Move up! Level up! – and the second half trying to slow everything down. In response to time’s merciless march, people tend to either fight, flee, or freeze. Some choose to fight Father Time, waging war with strange new weapons called Botox, fillers, neurotoxins, and lasers. Others choose to flee by attempting to live in the past. And still others, petrified by their own sense of powerlessness in the face of time’s relentless passing, do nothing. They embrace a life of willful ignorance, turning a blind eye to the reality of their own limited lifespan, choosing instead to drift aimlessly as long as they can.This dilemma has felt very close-to-home recently as our baby girl got her driver’s license. I could swear it was just yesterday that she sat in the driver’s seat of my 2008 Jeep Cherokee, pretending to drive. And now, in the blink of an eye, she’s holding the keys to her own Jeep Cherokee, ready to go out into the world…without me! It’s taken me a few days to collect my thoughts about this season of life, but I’ve come to the conclusion that time’s fast-fleeting nature is a gift. Becoming aware of the limited lifespan we are given on earth should not be cause for sadness or anxiety; instead, it should motivate us to make the most of each moment! In other words, the end of time as we know it is not really the end at all. King Solomon put it better than I can:
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart…
– Ecclesiastes 3:11
The passing of time often breaks our hearts because our hearts were made for eternity. Time’s limitations are meant to be a divine grace to us now, lest when our time on earth is done we fail to appreciate the sheer limitlessness of eternity. Or to put it more simply, once we have loved and lost in this life, we will more fully appreciate the joy of love without loss in the next!What are we to do in the meantime? Make the best use of the time. Love and serve the Lord.
Love and serve your neighbor.
Hug somebody.
Pray. Worship. Read the Bible.
Enjoy God’s creation.
Cook something delicious.
Look at screens less and at people more.
Stop wasting time on the internet.
Stop getting mad at the news.
Tell somebody you love them.
Tell someone you forgive them.Time is fleeting, my friends. There’s no use fighting or fleeing it, and ignoring it won’t help either. But we who follow Jesus can take solace in knowing that, one day, by God’s grace, we’ll be in Heaven, swapping stories about what it was like to live under the weight of time, and how amazing forever feels. For now, if coping with the passage of time has been a challenge for you, I pray that you will make a choice today to reject fear, avoidance, and procrastination in all its forms. And I pray that we all will make the most of the time the Lord has given us…starting right now!
