Time Rushes On

In our hectic society where workaholism is worn like a badge of honor, the phrase "killing time" evokes fewer positive connotations than it once did. Still, it's surprisingly easy to achieve the best--er, worst--of both worlds. Few could dispute that when priorities are out of balance, keeping busy and wasting time can go together like computer monitors and pixels. Conversely, it's possible to be seemingly idle and still be making good use of one's time; most Christians understand that rest and prayer are vital components of the life that best accomplishes God's will. Sadly, this is perhaps the area where Christians most ignore what they know in favor of living like the rest of the world.

It's been said that few people die wishing they'd spent more time at the office--the obvious implication being that most people sacrifice the building of relationships on the altar of making money. But there's more to wise use of time than that. The employee who balks at working late in a one-time emergency because he'd be late for a Friday night party, the stay-at-home mom who chastises her twenty-five-year-old for moving out because she knows of no use for her life beyond caring for him, and the model family man who never thinks about building a relationship with God are all as skewed in their priorities as the executive who effectively lives at the office. And everyone with skewed priorities has the same core problem: thinking in terms of "what I want" rather than "what God wants of me." Surprisingly few people take to heart the truth that God's will deserves top place on our priority lists; even most of His sincere followers complain about "not having time to do everything," failing to realize that it isn't God who asks people to do more than they're capable of.

Someday we all will run out of earthly time. When we stand before God for our final pre-Heaven examinations, how many of us will be able to say, as Jesus could, "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do" (John 17:4)? And for those forced to admit to completing considerably less, what kind of excuse will it be to say, "Well, at the time, it seemed more important to complete what I and other human beings gave me to do"?

Time rushes on:
We grow older, not younger;
Time rushes on:
Autumn gives way to frost;
Time rushes on,
And the tears of a lifetime
Never can bring back
The days we have lost.

Time rushes on:
Live each day to the fullest;
See to the work
God has set for your tasks;
Never say, "Wait,"
For His timing is perfect;
He knows the best time
For each thing He asks.

Time rushes on:
Soon life's time will be over;
Dozens of years
All will come to their end;
See to God's work,
So, when you stand before Him,
You may rejoice in
His "Well done, My friend!"