Time

Time, contrary to popular belief, is not ours to spend. We are simply borrowing it from the God who gave it to us. Every second of our lives matter in eternity. Every second should be used to glorify God and further His Kingdom. 'Me' time ceases to exist if God and Heaven are real. For example, every night before bed I used to spend 10-15 minutes playing games on the internet. 10 minutes is really not that much. If you add it up day after day however for say a week, that short 10 minutes becomes over an hour. Over a month it becomes five hours, and over a year, 60 hours. If I live to be just 70 years old and I took 10 minutes of 'me' time every single day for the rest of my life, it becomes over 3,000 hours. When I'm standing before the Lord when I die do I want to tell Him I spent those 3,000 hours taking time for myself or do I want to say I spent that time praying, getting in the Word, or even just sleeping to provide nourishment for my body? I dont know about you, but the realization of this truth means I have changes to make in my life about how I spend my time. We must realize that our time here on Earth is finite, set in stone. If we have a bank account with a finite amount of money we would be very careful about spending it, and wasting it would be absolutely out of the question. Our time is exactly the same way. We dont know when it will run out, but we certainly know it's not infinite, so wasting it should out of the picture. Colossians 3:17 says, "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus". Paul doesn't say just "some of things you do", or even "most of the things you do", he says in ALL you do, in word and deed. How many times in your life, and even today have you had a completely meaningless conversation? Every single day we ask each other, "How are you?", and every single day we respond, "I'm good, how are you?" We aren't actually learning anything about each other. Why not ask, "How is God challenging you?", or even just "What have you been reading lately?" If we do this we can really learn, and love, and carry each others burdens. God wants ALL of our conversations and ALL of our actions and ALL of our limited time here to be used for the purpose of giving Him glory. In the words of C.T. Studd, "If Jesus Christ is God, and He died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make to Him." Please think about the implications of how your time is spent and what it means in your life.

On an ending note, I certainly dont believe that we should be going a hundred miles an hour all the time. Rest is an essential part of our faith walk, and life in general. I would urge you to think seriously about taking a Sabbath every week. That may just mean setting aside a three or four hour block of time where you can get away from all distractions (school, cell phone, internet) and just be with the Lord. In the Old Testament the Sabbath was used by Israelites to remember the things God had done for them. One thing I tend to forget rather easily is that keeping a Sabbath is actually the Fourth Commandment, which means it has just as much weight as "Thou shalt not murder" and "Thou shalt not commit adultery". God didnt stop creating after Day Six. On Day Seven He created rest, and He made it Holy. So please, when you do take 'me' time, turn it into God time, and make it Holy.

Here are some quotes that I really loved from a recent article on relevantmagazine.com called "On Time." This article was what really convicted me to write this.

"I want every step I take to be a step towards a significant event in His Kingdom, be it a conversation or some random interaction. I want my life to be used for me become less and Him becoming great."

"God wants me to utilize every second I have to know Him and to give Him glory. He wants my conversations to further His Kingdom. He wants my life to speak of His greatness. Every day is significant. Every hour is full of purpose. We should be asking ourselves what's going to happen today that is going to change me forever? How can I be hope here and now?"

"I serve a God obsessed with people. I serve a God of time who wants me to take the low place to make Him great. It's when I come to the realization that it's Him time, not mine - that I'm just borrowing it.. That's when I start taking my moments seriously and living in the fullness of Him."

"At any given moment we need to be aware of the wisest possible way to invest the moment we so briefly hold in our grasp."

Colossians 3:17

Jeremy Fritz Anderberg