(Eph 5:16) redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
The average lifespan in America is 77.6 years. That means we will live 40,786,560 seconds, 679,776 hours, 28,324 days, 9,312 months. Now you do the math taking your current age and figure out how much time you have left to live. Some of us have a lot of sand in the top part of the hourglass. Some of us have about half. And for others . . . well . . . who knows exactly when that last grain of sand will fall.
Just think about it. Every time you hear a clock tick you’re that closer. That grandfather clock gongs. That cuckoo clock does its quarter rounds. “Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’, into the future.”
Time. Once it goes by it’s gone forever. Time. You can’t force the hands of time to reach your desired future. All you have is today . . . this very hour . . . this very moment. Now.
So, what do we do with this reality check about the preciousness of time? Get depressed? Party because we have no tomorrow? (Isa 22:13) That’s what the world may do but in Christ we have a hope in this life and in the life to come. The Bible says we are going to live forever. So, with that in mind we’ll need to be focusing on a few basic but important things:
DISCERNMENT – We’ll need wisdom from the Lord so we can make every moment count for Him. (Psa 90:10) The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years . . . (Psa 90:12) So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
INVESTMENT – We need to invest in the Bank of Heaven where we’ll be spending our eternal future. Why waste time on what is vain, empty, and valueless down here? (Mat 6:19-20) "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
EMPLOYMENT – We need to be working towards winning those lost souls for Christ. Have your friends and family heard about Jesus? Are you reaching out beyond yourself to a needy world? (2 Cor 6:2) . . . Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
We are all going to stand before God and give an account of how we spent our time. This doesn’t mean we can never relax or enjoy any kind of recreation. But it does mean we will answer to God for the time He gave us to serve Him and others.
So, the next time someone asks you what time it is, tell them it’s time to be saved and to serve!
Louie