Time

Time is ticking. Even as I write this the seconds tick by methodically. Time does not stop for anyone, except God, and time is irrelevant to Him. For us mortals time takes its toll. We age. The hair thins or turns grey. The joints ache a little more. We lose stamina. We become a little more forgetful. The signs of aging creep up. The skin sags and wrinkles. The muscles atrophy. We lose some of our vision requiring eye glasses. We frequent doctors offices more often.

All the while time keeps on ticking by. Each of us at some point will face our own mortality. There is not enough cosmetic surgeries, medical procedures, workouts or diets to keep a person young forever. Right across the street from where I sit writing this a cemetery. Many people who used worship in this very facility are now gone. They used to be vibrant, active, workers and devoted servants. Now they are gone. They died of natural causes, cancer, tragedies and more. Grave markers and memories remind us of their lives.

 Some are born and start their journey called life. Others die and are carried to the cemetery or their ashes are collected. Nobody lives forever in this mortal body. It does a person good to contemplate their own mortality and think about eternity. Time continues to tick tock right on.

With whatever time you have left what sort of person do you want to be? What do you want to be remembered for? What do you want the preacher to be able to say honestly at your funeral? We are either going out of here in caskets, the rapture or a container of our ashes. Someone will take our place at work. Someone will sit at our familiar spot at the cafe. Another will take our pew. It is the cycle of life.

While most of us have no idea how much time we have left, it would be wise for us to redeem that time. To invest our days in things that matter for eternity. To live for causes greater than ourselves. The dash on the grave marker cannot tell the story. The story of lives wasted or the stories of lives that mattered and made a difference.

While there is still time, it would be wise to live for that other unseen world that awaits the children of God. It would be wise to make adjustments in our priorities for the things that really matter most. To really live while we can instead of just existing and mindlessly marching through our days.

One day time will run out for all of us in one way or another. I'm thankful for another reminder about how fragile life can be and about its brevity. While we still have time, let us make the most of it for God's glory.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (ESV)
1  For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2  a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;