The Commodity of Time
"Time is God's way to ensure everything doesn't happen at once." Author Unknown
"From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Matthew 16:21
Let's face it, the topic of death goes over like a pregnant pole-vaulter in most social circles. The macabre subject is shoved into the corner of our minds so that it might end up in the junkyard of neglected topics. In contrast, Jesus was born to die. He knew this and His father knew this. The eternal son stepped into the confines of time. Clothed in skin, he felt the compression of the calendar. The clock was ticking once the water turned into wine at Cana.
This voluntary incarnation compelled Jesus to make radical choices in his time on earth. Death was crouching in every town he passed through. Jesus had an internal clock that was ticking and he knew the most valuable commodity in life was his time. You can get more of just about everything else, but time is fixed. You can get more money, but not more time. You can get more friends, but not more time. You can get more food, but not time. Time is fixed and final.
Steve Jobs, speaking at the 2005 Stanford University Commencement, said, "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life." You see, time is not only the great restricter; time is the great teacher. We are instructed in Psalm 90:12, "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." The spiritual discipline of numbering is displayed in our choices and sacrifices. You just don't have time for everything.
Like all resources, time must be managed. This requires you to learn the art of saying no. Have you ever thought that saying no is a spiritual discipline? Saying no this week might be the most Christ-like action of your week. A wise heart recognizes that you cannot do everything and you cannot be everything to everybody.
The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:13, "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead." Notice he did not say, “Look at the forty things I dabble in." Paul understood he had an expiration date and he had to focus.
Time to focus. Time to number. Time to say no. Do the calculations. How many days do you have left? If I live to current Social Security tables, I have 12,560 days left as I write this post. That is my number. I have 12,560 days to kick a dent in eternity, where time does not exist and the future is not altered.
Your turn. What is your number? More importantly, what do you need to say no to? What is your one thing? Think this way: you have limited days to partner with an unlimited God who is ready to use you in limitless ways.
The clock is ticking. Focus. It is your move.
