TIME'S A'WASTIN'

Most every day I think of that phrase, yet take some time to wait on the Lord, to learn what He wants me to do next. Life is but a vapor. Will I use my days serving Him? Will I bring love, joy, and peace to others? Will I offer  healing to those who are sick, hungry, or in chains? Will you?

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES  by Sally Bair

Time's Marching Feet

At age 14 my mother moved with her family from the North Dakota prairie to northern Wisconsin. One of the first things she did after their move was walk to their neighbors, friends who also had recently moved from the same prairie town. To get there, Mom had to walk through a pasture and then a mile along a narrow, dirt road flanked by thick woods.

After a long visit, the neighbor said, "Don't you think you should be getting home, Ruthie? It'll be dark soon." But Mom lingered, counting on the same kind of long dusk she had experienced on the wide-open prairie. Later, at the neighbor's insistence, Mom looked out the window at total darkness! With surprise and fear, Mom ran home as fast as her bare feet allowed.

Time is an interesting concept. It can drag on slowly or fly on wings. A mother-to-be seems to wait forever for her babe to be born. And when the baby wakes her up every three hours, the nights never seem to end. Some parents can hardly wait for the time their last child will be gone from home. Other parents don't want that day to ever come.

There are endless examples of how time affects our lives, depending on our perspective. We can waste time, spend it, bless it, or curse it. We consider its past, its present, and its future. We revel in it or agonize over it.  

Jesus spoke often about time. He said that it is not for us to know the time—the hour or the day—when He will return. Paul the Apostle quoted the prophet Isaiah: "As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, 'In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.' I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)

A new year has come. What will we do with the time God gives us? Will we take time to help a neighbor in need? To answer a child's question? To forgive a family member who hurt us?

We can wait too long to do the things we should, like my mom waited too long to run home safely. Will time overtake us as the darkness overtook her?

Lord, You are the author of our time. This year we choose to commit body, soul, and spirit into Your trustworthy hands, for today is the time for salvation. In Jesus’ name, amen.