What Time Is It?

Time is a precious commodity for us. To one degree or another, we all lead busy and sometimes stressful lives. We have "places to go, people to see, and things to do." We never seem to have enough time for all of our activities and obligations. And to make matters worse, it turns out that our days on earth are numbered (Psalm 39:4-5, Psalm 90:12)!

Our Creator, however, not only has all the time in the world, but also has all the time in the entire universe and all of creation. He is immortal and is not constrained by the dimension of time in which we find ourselves (Genesis 1:1-2, Psalm 90:1-2, Isaiah 44:6). He exists outside of our concept of time. The Bible helps put this truth in perspective for us: "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" (2 Peter 3:8). God is truly timeless. As a part of His plan for our salvation, God sent Jesus to live among us in bodily form, within our limited dimension of time (2 Timothy 1:9-10). As a part of the Trinity, however, Jesus is immortal and timeless, just like His Father (John 1:1-5, Colossians 1:15-17, 1 Peter 1:20, Revelation 22:13). His existence didn't begin in Bethlehem and didn't end on Calvary. He is the Alpha and the Omega, and He gives us the hope that we will someday join Him with new life in a timeless realm.

Because we have only a finite amount of time available to us on earth, it is important for us to try to allocate our time wisely. We will always need to take care of mundane, day-to-day matters, but we should not neglect our spiritual growth. We should prioritize the inclusion of spiritual disciplines into our schedules to help us stay close to God; disciplines such as prayer, meditation, Scripture reading, service, worship, and Christian fellowship. This includes making the time to seek God's comfort and guidance through prayer every day. We should never be too busy to spend some of our time with Him. As he was planning his day, Martin Luther famously once said, "I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in Prayer." He wisely put first things first, and we should, too!

In addition to being timeless, it logically follows that God is also infinitely patient (Psalm 103:8, 1 Corinthians 13:4, 1 Timothy 1:16). His desire is for His children to be reconciled with Him through Christ and to have eternal life, but He is not necessarily in a hurry for this to happen (John 3:16). Because He loves us unconditionally, He is willing to wait for us to believe and to turn to Him, so that more people might be saved: "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" (2 Peter 3:9).

We are blessed to have an eternal God who always has plenty of time for each of us. We should respond to this amazing grace by always having plenty of time for Him. The Disciple Group suggests that you step back and reflect on how you are using the time that God has given to you. Are you, perhaps, devoting too much time to the pursuit of material things and earthly pleasures at the expense of your spiritual growth and, ultimately, your eternal salvation? Never forget that it is always the right time to seek God! "Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge" (Psalm 62:8).