Life, it’s an interesting journey isn’t it? As I get older I can’t believe how it just seems to accelerate. As a child I remember time used to take forever. That 12mths leading up to Christmas just never seemed to get there. It’s interesting isn’t it? how our age differs our perception of time. Now that I am just over 40, time seems to be travelling at a ridiculous speed, in fact sometimes it feels as though it travels too fast and to be honest, it has got me asking the question “what have I done with my life?” I wonder, have you ever wanted to know how much time you have here on this earth?
The writer of Psalm 39 asked this question of God when he said “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.” I think when David wrote this Psalm he was asking the very same question: “What have I done with my life, how much time do I have left?”
Paul on the other hand approached this question very differently. He was very aware that time was short, he knew that he needed to use his time wisely. In Ephesians 5 he says: “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Eph 5:15-17.
You know as I have pondered these thoughts recently something very interesting occurred to me.; there are only two things that we can do during our time here on earth that we simply cannot do once we get to heaven? 1. Sin and 2. Tell others about Jesus and invest in people. You know our time on earth is very limited. Psalm 90 tells us that our years may be no more than 70 or 80 but the reality is that no-one knows the time that we have. Time is precious and we have to use our time well. In a world that is straying further and further away from God we need to take the opportunities to share the gospel when they arise. Friends, how are we impacting our world for Jesus today? When our time is up what is it that we want to be remembered for? It has been said that life is no more than a dash between two dates. If that is the case then how are we using our dash? Are we impacting the world around us and what is the legacy we want to leave behind? Let’s go one step further; if our church was to disappear off the face of the planet tomorrow, would it even be missed?
When Jesus was on the earth He had a very small amount of time to make a huge impact. Everything He did was intentional. Every conversation, every action and every thought had a purpose and it was a purpose that glorified God. In John 10:10 Jesus says that: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” What did he mean by that? Quite simply Jesus came that we may have completion. A life not necessarily free from trouble but a life full of Joy, a life spiritually complete, a life lived to the glory of God. Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. Friends because of what Jesus has done for us and what He can do through us, we are able to live a fruitful life if we choose to. Our time is fleeting, let’s not waste what time we have left. Let us be a people and a church who has a huge impact on the world around us.
"Don't count the days, make the days count."
Mohammad Ali
