March 15, 2010

What Time Is It...Really?

For the next few days many of us will be going around comparing the old time with the new time. We know what the clock says, but is it 9:00 am or is it actually 8:00 am disguising itself as 9:00 am. Referencing his return Jesus said, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.” (Mark 13:32-33 ESV) I can just see the Lord returning on one of the days we ‘spring forward’ or ‘fall back’.

1 comment:

Steve Corey said...

Gail;

-----The sun and the earth and moon and stars tell us what time it really is. At any given moment two points on this planet are at noon and midnight. Two more are at mid-morning and mid afternoon. We invented clocks so we could more conveniently acknowledge midnight and noon and more precisely coordinate our activities with each another. Then one day someone discovered everyone’s activities could be shifted in relation to the sun so there would be more daytime available for playtime. We had to simply ignore the sun and reset all our watch’s in unison. That’s when we discovered how much our concept of time is keyed to the clock and the hubbub around us more than it is to relating the earth’s position to the sun. If noon and midnight now come to mind an hour early simply because we are all doing our stuff an hour early, then the earth and sun exposes our self-delusion to anyone willing to ponder for a moment. Matter not what the clocks say, noon still points straight up at the sun.
-----So also the Word of God tells time precisely. It stretches out the timeline of God’s plan, marked with general indications of the beginning and end, and the significant points of time between the two. It also stretches out the timeline of a human life, from childhood through adulthood to the August years near death, as well as the timeline of the new life, from rebellion to sorrow to repentance to joy. Just as the sun and earth do not realign when we move our clocks forward or backward, God’s relation to earth and individual does not realign merely because we wish to think of ourselves as being in a different hour of His spiritual clock than what we actually are. Humility may look at the wristwatch to know when to meet a friend for lunch, but it will look at the Word to know when to meet God for the truth.

Love you all,
Steve Corey