Tempus is fugiting

“Tempus is fugiting”

Nobody stops time. Here in NJ the Fall foliage is beautiful, a reminder of winter to come, of time passing. Yesterday, I stood for a few moments in the cemetery looking a headstone on my parents’ graves, remembering. The dates carved on that stone mark off their time here on this earth, two dates separated by a dash. It was another reminder that time does not stand still. My phone alerts me to the appointments that shape a work day, those subtle tones replacing chimes of the old hall clock that marked off the hours of the day.

How well do you use your time? A person who desires to live well, to be productive and effective, who wants to please God – will understand the value of time.

Do you meet deadlines or are you noted for asking for extensions?
Do you anticipate demands and prepare in advance, or are you often ‘a day late and a dollar short?’

Do you, Christian, keep eternity  on the horizon so that you will stay on course in life, or do you wander, living in the futile land of fantasy, doing silly things that ‘kill time?’

One response is urgency. I am prone to press myself to pack in too much, to look forward too far, so that I steal the joy of this day.  My prayer is for wisdom to live this day to the fullest, yet to also take advantage of the moments to connect meaningfully with others and to appreciate the blessings and beauty along the way. The Psalm prays, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12, NIV)  Surely, the Word would not urge us to become anxious, driven people! Urgency is not the right response to time’s passing. God desires that we live with an awareness of the opportunities that are unique to this day.

Jesus hints at the importance of living with an awareness of the day. In the prayer He taught the disciplines, there is this line: “Give us this day, our daily bread.”  It’s not just about food!  We pray to know God’s provision for today, to live in them, and to use them in preparation for tomorrow.  As Christians we must never forget that ‘tomorrow’ may be here or it may be in His Presence.

The Word counsels us about mortgaging our future, in our arrogance becoming so certain that we know the future. "Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins." (James 4:13-17, NIV)   Go back and read that last sentence!  What’s the direction there?  “Do what God wants you to do, right now, because you can’t presume there will be a tomorrow in which to get it done!”

Here’s the word from the Word. Memorize it. Live it. Be prepared.  "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”— … Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:1, 13-14, NIV)

___________

Day by day and with each passing moment,

Strength I find to meet my trials here.

Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,

I've no cause for worry or for fear.

He whose heart is kind beyond all measure

Gives unto each day what He deems best.

Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,

Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Ev'ry day the Lord Himself is near me,

With a special mercy for each hour.

All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,

He whose name is Counselor and Pow'r.

The protection of His child and treasure

Is a charge that on Himself He laid.

As your days your strength shall be in measure,

This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in ev'ry tribulation,

So to trust Your promises, O Lord.

That I lose not faith's sweet consolation,

Offered me within Your holy Word.

Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting;

E'er to take as from a Father's hand,

One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,

‘Till I reach the Promised Land!

Andrew L. Skoog, Karolina Wilhelmina Sandell-Berg, Oskar Ahnfelt

© Words: Public Domain