THE BLESSING OF TIME

“To everything there is a SEASON, a TIME for every purpose under heaven” – Ecclesiastes 3:1

Inching towards another milestone in the human calendar, we do well to ponder on the BLESSING of TIME: “To everything there is a SEASON, a TIME for every purpose under heaven” (Ecc.3:1). Life on earth is packaged into times and seasons. TIME is LIFE! Time is one of the most precious gifts we have as human beings, because we only have a set amount of it. We can make more money, but we can't make more time. Wasting time is tantamount to squandering a portion of life that one may never get back, except at greater cost. As Time flies, life ebbs! To make the most of life, we must value time, knowing that every year, month, week, day, hour, minute, and moment could be crucial. David prayed: “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psa.90:12).

GOD, being sovereign over time all the time, oversees and works to make the most and best of every situation for us. Time is important to us, but with God, it is not an overriding issue. Time is in His Hand and under His control! In listing the merisms – the pairs of contrasting words used to express totality – Solomon was not saying everybody has to go through each of the fourteen pairs (vv.2-8). They do, however, provide an overview of major events of virtually every life. He asks rhetorically: “What profit has the worker from that in which he labours?” (v.9). That is, “What is to be gained by experiencing these events?” Verse 10 answers: “I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.” That is, God is deeply involved in all of these issues and events of life. In it all, He never abandons us (Heb.13:5).

LIFE is a TIMED Assignment. God sent each one of us on divine assignment or unique Purpose to the world and to our generation. No one else can fulfil our purpose the way we can. They predated our existence. God told Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jer.1:5). Paul affirmed that God had separated him from his “mother’s womb and called” him by Grace (Gal.1:15). LIFE exists in TIME. God gave Time as the medium for carrying out life’s assignments.

The two perspectives to Time are: (a) “Chronos” – Time in duration; (b) “Kairos” – Set or appointed times. The New Testament linear concept of time is quantitatively measured by successive events or moments. More significant is Time as a series of Crucial Moments: KAIROS times locked up inside of CHRONOS times. Within the time duration that God has packaged us into, there will be certain significant, appointed, and set times. Missing them can spell the tragedy of a lifetime: “You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for the time to favor her, Yes, the set time, has come” (Psa.102:13).

TIME is a ‘limited’ GIFT from GOD. We don't typically know how much time we have left here on earth – only that, at some point, our time on this side of existence will end. People often put things off, thinking that they will have lots of time to get to them later. We are creatures of Eternity passing through Time. We must use it wisely because there are many distractions from what truly matters. In a major matter, no details are small! Life is a major matter; and moments could be invaluable! To waste time is to end up with regret: “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph.5:16).

TIME is the River of Life. To fulfill destiny, God packaged us into the costly asset and valuable blessing called Time. How it’s spent determines how effectively other resources at one’s disposal will be used. Time is critical when we keep eternity in view. “The great use of one’s life is to spend it for something that will outlast it, for the value of life is computed not by its duration, but by its donation” (William James).