The greatest realization of how little time we have comes with the knowing that Jesus could rapture the church any day now. It is that sense of urgency i try to get across to the people whom i witness to on a daily basis. Christ's imminant return.
When I share Jesus Christ with people, one of the more common responses that i get, if not the most common response, is " Not now. Give me more time to think about it."
Inwardly I sigh, outwardly I just say "ok."
A part of me wants to yell at the top of my lungs "Time is not something you have a lot of."
However, in my spirit I stand pat and wait for the Holy Spirit to lead me.
Ephesians 5:15-17 says "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is."
Sometimes i have great difficulty excercising patience and managing time. Like most of society today i want "it" instantly. Hurry, hurry, hurry. My zeal for wanting a lost soul find salvation often leads to a battle between my spirit and my flesh. I think back to Calvary and the two thieves on either side of Jesus. The first thief took the road more traveled by the people of the day and chose to ridicule Jesus questioning His Lordship by saying "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us."
The second thief knew, by observation and conversation, that Jesus was indeed the Son of God and promised Messiah sent to redeem a lost and sinful people.
Herein is the great divide amongst humanity today--time.
Thief #1 while on his cross did not see the need or urgency to get his life right with God because his words relayed the desires of his heart. "Save me from this horrible death and i will believe you."
Thief #2 chose to take advantage of what little time and life he had to find forgiveness for his sins and be redeemed from death and eternal damnation. "I am guilty of my crimes. Remember me when You come into Your kingdom."
As we all know the second thief did enter into the kingdom of heaven as a newly received child of the Most High God. Only then did i come to see that my timeframe is not the same as God's timeframe.
God is not bound by time or space nor is He subject to the will of mankind. The same cannot be said for mankind. We are bound by time, because at some point our bodies will fail us and we shall all surely die. We are bound by space, because we cannot be in two or more places at one time. At the prescribed time ordained by God we will hear the salvation message and accept or reject it. At the prescribed time ordained by God people are born and people die.
The apostle Peter wrote in his 2nd epistle verses 3-4 of chapter 3
knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."
I too am part of the problem because i procrastinate a lot, thinking i have the time. Sometimes my own fears come into play. Yet, how could I pass on the opportunity to be a servant of God? That may be the last chance they get to hear the message of salvation and say yes to Jesus. Someone may be on the cusp of saying yes and only need to hear of the great love of God for them.
Time is not our enemy but when it comes to doing the will of God time is of the essence and not to be wasted.
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