We are obsessed with time. Think of the ways we describe our relationship with time. We save it. We spend it. We waste it. We kill it. We can’t even put our finger on the present. The moment we try, it is gone.
The apostle Paul told the Ephesians to make the most of their time. Most of us would agree: we should make the most of the time allotted to us. How?
We’ve got to learn to limit our time. Sounds strange, but think about it. In baseball the batter is allowed three – and only three – strikes. If the batter had unlimited strikes, the game would drag on worse than it does. It would be too dull for spectators and players.
Golfers are allowed one little white ball and one drive at a time. If golfers could stand there and keep driving the ball off the tee until they got the perfect drive, do you seriously think anyone would play with them? In fact, some of us would never get off the first tee!
Life is a game which has to be played within the limits of time. We only have so much of it, so why waste it? Let’s make our minutes count. When our yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows add up to something useful and purposeful, we are living right.
Jesus of Nazareth was a supreme master of the art of spending time. He never let time control him. He didn’t dash around Palestine trying to save time and keep on schedule. Yet he knew his time was short. He said so. There was a sense of urgency, yes, but no feverish scurrying.
Jesus took the time to stop and speak with people. He played with children. He spent whole days in prayer. But was it time off? Off from what? Ah….Jesus did not keep a calendar. He was fulfilling a life.
If we are to fulfill our lives, we must live our days to the fullest. In other words, we need put our whole selves into life’s little moments so those moments can become the bits of eternal life.