The alarm clock that wakes you up in the morning was more than likely made in a factory that not only produces clocks, but possibly many other items. It probably employs dozens if not hundreds of workers, laboring intensely for their paychecks, the same type of paycheck that you are seeking after setting that alarm clock each evening. We are governed by time, it is perhaps the most dominant master that man has ever known, whether it be the sun and moon, light and dark, or the hands of the clock on the wall, we are placed within the constructs of time. It may be one of the main reasons why eternity is so foreign a word to us, for it has no relative concept within our minds, there is for us always a beginning and an end to everything, no exceptions.
The apple tree starts as a seed, produces fruit for many years, and then is gone, mountains shift at an imperceptible rate known only by the most finest calibrated instruments, our lives have a beginning and an end, seemingly moving quicker as we age, yet the second hand on the clock knows no variance to its movement, it moves within exactly the same space of time each moment. Time is not relative, it is dogmatic and unchangeable, it is what we do within it that alters our perception of it. It can be filled with activities, doing as much as is possible within it to make every moment count, or it can drag on and be an incredible burden upon us, but the actual amount of time that has elapsed has not been modified in even the smallest way, every movement of the clock takes exactly the same amount of time each time before it moves again.
One of the greatest deceits of Satan upon man is that he has time, that life is long and that we have plenty of time, and so even for many believers in Christ they feel no urgency, if not today, then tomorrow, for there is always tomorrow. The Lord our God created time, He is neither bound by it or subject to it in anyway whatsoever, He does not move forward or backward in it searching out the past and future, but lives in an unbounded now. The one who controls the second hand of the clock of man can choose to stop its movements at any time He desires, and He has made that choice for each of us. We can use our past experiences to plan for our future as best as we know how, but all of us have the ability to live in only one place, right here, right now.
I believe that this concept is realized much more by the mature follower of Christ, for he understands fully and accepts the fact that his life here on earth will indeed come to an end, and so it is that he sets his face as a flint towards the knowledge of his Lord so that the day that he meets Him he will not be as a complete stranger to Him. Time for this man is neither a friend nor enemy, each moment, every breath is simply an opportunity to be in service, to be studying His Word, to seek contemplation of His ways. Every second of the clock offers an opportunity to prepare to be in the presence of his Lord, if you will, for the first time.
No moment of time here must be wasted, for with each passing tick of the clock he is that much closer to this initial meeting, and it is that moment of time that will matter the most in its completion. For his walk will not be forever, the path has come to the narrow gate, and it is time to give an account to his Lord and Master for how he spent the time that was allotted to him. The weed, hay, and stubble will be cast from off his back long before this moment of time, for these are not proper gifts to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the gold, silver, and precious stones of a life lived in obedient service to his Master are to be our gifts to Him, the gifts of a profitable servant to his Lord. It is this one moment in time that is to be foremost in our minds, He who has sent us into the world to proclaim His Holy name will require an account of our actions, and our faithfulness in doing them.
If we thought more on an early death instead of a long life, I do not believe that we would be so remise in the duties that Christ has set before us, we would serve Him each day as if there were no tomorrow, in fact each moment would be a precious opportunity to seek His face, to be still and listen for His voice. How would your walk with the Lord change if instead of looking for the coming of the rapture of the church at any moment, you instead came to the truth of the knowledge that the next moment of time could be your last. A proper life in servitude to Christ is to be sought after more fervently than a life long in years. Many there are who have lived long in their lives, professing Christ as Lord, who have not served Him as much as one day of the life of an obedient servant for His glory.
Time is irrelevant my friends, only life matters, and as you know full well, the life that does not know Christ as Savior, the person who has said in their heart “There is no God” (Psalms 14:1) will know an unbounded now of eternal suffering from the presence of the Lord. When something happens and then is no longer happening, that is the simplest description of the passage of time that I am aware of, what was no longer is. The pleasures of Heaven that await the chosen of God are beyond our comprehension, and when one pleasure has been known to us there, it will not fade away, it will not pass into a state of non-existence, only to remain a fading memory, it will be eternally available to us, for we are loved beyond measure.
The most incredible event that ever occurred in your life, the day of your marriage, the birth of your child, no matter what it may have been cannot be repeated again, it has become only a fond memory, relegated to a past that cannot be recaptured. Those who dwell in the past eventually know nothing but sorrow, for they are either continuously trying to recapture that period of time, the moments of elation and happiness, or they are seeking to forget the pain and sorrow of times long gone. The future holds only the empty promises of remembrance or forgetfulness and they seek diligently for that which time has swallowed up long ago. These individuals use all of their right here and right nows to plan for a future that may never come and hide from the fact that time for them one day will cease. Many of them try to do all that they can to leave their mark on a particular moment of time so that they will not be forgotten when their final moment arrives. It is our nature to want to be remembered by those who will not be taking that journey with us on that day, to leave a part of us behind in the minds of those that will remain on the earth when we have departed from it. But this is not to be the focus of those who call Christ Lord and have heeded His call to serve Him.
If we are remembered as men of God, fine and well, but that is not our intent, and never should be. It is not whether we lived a life serving Christ that they should remember, but that it was Christ in us that led our lives, we must always strive to make sure that it is God who receives the Glory, never us. If there is a library in Heaven, which I personally believe there will be, it will have one main book at its entrance, the inerrant Word of God, his Holy Bible, but behind that there will be countless volumes stretching as far and wide as the eye can see. Words of wisdom given to men and women of God written down for all to read, and we will have all of eternity to do so, but above the door of this majestic building will be the sentence, “The Words of God.”
The second hand is ticking, it continued to move at its prescribed pace while you were reading this, and it will continue after you have finished, but it is not going to continue for you for much longer, no matter if you are fourteen or eighty-four. What you do with the time allotted to you by Almighty God, the life that He has seen fit to bless you with has been left completely up to you, but you only get one chance at this my friends. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.” (Hebrews 9:27) And a few moments after you leave your mortal shell, you will give an account (Romans 14:12). Right here, right now, that is how every moment should be used to glorify our Lord, for the last moment is approaching.
