A delayed thought on time

It appears to have not slipped the notice of some readers that whilst there is usually some piece of writing published here every weekend, the weekend just gone saw only tumbleweed and crickets (or an empty inbox, or whatever other metaphor for silence you like).

So, this author thought it proper not to rush one of the other pieces that are currently marinating, sitting on the backburner and the slow cooker, but rather to address something about time. So here we are better late than never, and truly I tell you, It’s about time.

Whilst we don’t have a whole lot to say about time, this author has something of a confession to make, this time around (ok, last one, I promise). This author is fighting a losing battle in which he would like to fit five good tasks into enough time for four only. The numbers are arbitrary, but the point remains. We have so many things we can do during our days, and so many of them are good and will have lasting significance, but we can’t do all of them. If you still think you can, you are lying to yourself, and if that’s not bad enough, you’re believing yourself. Don’t hear us as one wagging the finger down our long and lofty noses, but rather as a fellow standing beside you in the gallows, asking ‘first time?’

There are many good things that can be said about the limited nature of time, and about the very limited nature of the human being, but we will stick with those that have been most prominently annoying and true in this author’s experience.

1. Time is a space that exists to serve God’s glory (tangentially, this author suspects that this fact leads one reasonably to ponder the possibility of there being much much more time to come; also, this idea came from a song)
2. It is better for us to miss out on many things and only have time for some things, because this reminds us that it is Christ in whom all things hold together and have their being, not the dear reader, or the beleaguered timetable of this author. Things, broadly speaking, will continue on just fine without you. You are a contingent part of the story, not the main character.
   1. Before we go any further, do not be tempted to despair, or to feel worthless. Despite God not needing your contribution in the slightest, your every breath has meaning because (if you have trusted in Christ and live in obedience to him) you are walking in the good works he prepared for you (Eph 2:10) and those works will not burn on the last day but be glorified (1 Corinthians 3:15) and framed on the walls of redemptive history. The importance of your life is not that you are just so valuable by your very nature as an image-bearer of God (which has truth in a different context), but that God has set his love on you, and that now you are invited to lay bricks in a temple that will stand for all time (Hebrews 3:6).
3. It is also good for us to miss out on good and Godly things (hold your rotten tomatoes, we plan to claw this out of the jaws of heterodoxy), as a further reminder that the success of our church and the gospel itself is not dependent on any one person being a superstar who has time for it all. The proper Christian timetable is not one which makes time for every good opportunity that is available to the Christian. It is impossible to say yes to everything. That means each one of us will (and likely have already, many times before) said no to Bible studies, book clubs, small groups, committees we are well suited for, fellowship outings that would have been a blast, camps, conferences, even times of evangelism.
   1. Yes, it is good and proper to do all those aforementioned things, and we hope that your pastor expects you to be faithfully serving in some of those capacities, and many others not listed.
   2. Once again, the Evangelical church will not crumble to the ground if you can’t make time for all of them. If you are married, your spouse is a higher priority for you than making sure you’re on every planning team and prayer chain. If you’re a parent, then having a meaningful relationship with your kids (one which involves raising them in the knowledge and admonition of the Lord) is more important than a great deal of very good things. We speak with greatly zoomed out generalisations here, since marriage and parenthood are not topics this author has a firsthand acquaintance with, but since Scripture speaks with authority, and this author can read, we will repeat the word of God and hear its authority ring out.
4. The Sabbath is such a blessing, but it is also a teaching tool. You think you don’t need a day of rest, and that is why you do. It is for your own good, and you will work yourself half to death if you don’t read the user manual, and enjoy the rest prescribed therein.

Now, with the reader’s permission assumed, we will make one more confession. This author loves to learn about some very niche topics, and that often takes the form of listening to hours and hours of podcasts and talks. That takes time. Probably at least 40% of the things you have seen us write, dear reader, are the fruit of this kind of education. They were by no means wasted hours, and the words we have written are not (if we might be so bold) wasted words. However, if this author is to learn from his own pen, and practise what he preaches, it may involve cutting some good things down (this author is comforting himself by imagining a collective sigh emanating from the two readers of this blog).

Well, we’ve put our cards on the table, and we have one pair and King high against a Full house of Aces full of Kings. That’s French for we’ve got no tricks left up our sleeve. What about you, modern reader? Have you made peace with these truths? Are you honouring time, and your need for sleep, as a way of honouring God and his design by proxy? Are you leveraging the time you do have for the glory of the eternal kingdom?

If the Lord should tarry, and we believe that he will, this blog will continue. Perhaps, if we’re prudent in our time management, there will be another post this weekend, and hopefully on time this time.

For a final exhortation, remember this: God has written every hour of your life. If you are still breathing, God still has things for you to do. So glorify God and enjoy him forever.