For some of us “old timers” who sing along with the “classic rock” stations, there’s a good chance you still remember the opening lines from a song released in 1970! Even if you’re not a fan you may still remember the chorus: “Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care (about time).” My dependence on an electronic clock (my phone) and an electronic calendar (on my phone) declare I care about time. So do you.
Our schedules are crazy complicated. Our lives are so busy with work, school, kids, sports, hobbies, projects, travel and social events that it’s hard to meet with others. If you doubt that, try to arrange for ten people to be together on a particular day and you’ll find out just how busy we all really are!
Time is limited. Every day comes to an end. No matter how much you are enjoying yourself. No matter how much you still have left to do. No matter how much you dread tomorrow, today will end. Those days very quickly become months and then years. It’s been a very bad year for lots of us but look at the calendar... it’s already Thanksgiving.
Some things require lots of time for preparation. 2021 is being planned by us right now. Getting a degree, getting married, changing jobs, building a house, raising a garden and many other tasks can’t be accomplished on a whim. Important events are planned long in advance, often months/years ahead. Church work, too. It takes many months to arrange the Summer Series and years to schedule our gospel meetings.
An acquaintance of mine was openly lamenting his life. He said, “I’m 67 and I’m running out of time.” He saw all the projects and activities he still wanted to do so he sold his business and retired. A couple of years later he died in an accident. He didn’t know it but he was right. He was out of time.
I still remember some of the last years of vacation plans that we made with the kids still at home. Several times Libbie and I literally said these words, “it’s now or never.”
It is a cold hard fact that needs to be learned sooner rather than later; time in this life is limited. It will be gone in the blink of an eye. But time in the next life is unlimited. It will go on and on for eternity. Which life do you think we should really be planning for? Plan well!
(Rom. 13:11) “... it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”
- Tim Orbison