|
Recently I attended
a funeral of a gifted and caring young dad who had made some bad
choices. In his hopelessness he made the final fatal choice of
ending his own life. The shock, like a huge earthquake, shook his
friends and family without warning. All present were keenly aware
of the fragility of life and the critical choices that determine
whether time here is our friend or foe. God has given us the
freedom to make choices, but we cannot choose the consequences of
those choices. In this case the choices resulted in a life snuffed
out, children left fatherless, a grieving wife, family and
friends.
I left that funeral
with the question, “Is time picking my pocket as my foe", or
"filling my heart as my friend?” Is time endless or is it running
out for you and me? If each of us could buy even one year of time,
the wait line would circle the globe many times.
The ancient Greeks
characterized time as wings, not running, but flying. Our
body clock, from the moment we are conceived to its end of life
here, is irreversibly “wound to run down.” Each has a different
run down point known only to God.
When confronted
with time, we quickly return to our mode of assuming our clock here is atomic and
will run forever. Only once did the sun stand still, but time
never has. Time is an unstoppable loaded freight train flying down
an endless hill.
In contrast, God is
timeless and infinite, a concept our finite minds cannot fully
fathom. Our selfish pride reflects our finiteness and our feeble
attempts to be like God. It makes good sense to give attention to
what our maker, redeemer and sustainer says about time and
eternity. Eternity has no beginning or end. “In the beginning was
God” according to the Biblical account in Genesis chapter one. God
was before time began. We can only think in beginnings and endings
and what is in between, but he is timeless. He was and is and
shall ever be.
Many people
secretly fear the thoughts of time flying and their dying. Few
people are certain about the ultimate purpose for living life
here, nor do they have the certainty of hope. We are not free to
choose the term of our life here, but we can choose the quality
and timeless mode for our living both for now and all eternity.
As time ticks away
each day, I become more careful in choosing the what, how, where,
and who for spending my time. I am learning to say “no” more in
order to say “yes” to the important things. There is so much
entertainment out there that is but a vapour, and often robs us of
the enduring relationships and values of life.
In a few short
years, or less, it will not matter what kind of car we drove, what
movies we saw, the endless hours we spent entertaining ourselves,
what kind of house or neighborhood we lived in. It will not matter
how much money we made or saved or how many plaques or trophies we
accumulated. It will not matter how many “toys” we treasured,
stroked and polished.
What matters when
all is said and done is our relationship with God and others and
what we have done with what God has given us. Jim Elliot who gave
his life to reach a remote tribe of people in South America said,
“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he
cannot loose.”
God gave us the ultimate gift of gifts in
His Son. He offers us a timeless relationship with him throughout
eternity. The world’s best
seller, the Bible, tells us that “God so loved the world that
He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him will not
perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Life for each of
us began at conception, but how it is lived and where it ends
is determined by our choices.
Christ is the Truth
that frees us from the foe of time. Truth by its definition is
exclusive. It is by our choice that we are excluded or included in
His family by salvation “adoption”. In this relationship time
becomes our friend, and the forces of evil our foe.
In this timeless
relationship that shapes our destiny, the divine paradox is that
we loose our life to find it. Our life surrendered to God’s
sovereign authority makes Him our timeless friend. King David,
the Psalmist said, “Friendship with God is reserved for those who
love Him. With them alone He shares His promises.” Psalm 25:12. I
pray that you may choose well, live in His freedom and end well.
Each day is a gift, and with the choice of
Christ as truth, you can have the timeless gift of gifts—the
ultimate Christmas gift God offers to you. The gift that
pleases God most is yourself so consider “wrapping” yourself up
for presentation and the blessing!
The price is high - your life, but the price
of ignoring his gift of gifts is much greater - emptiness and
spiritual atrophy and death.
Robert Lincoln
“Bud” Hancock.
Bus Hancock is
also the author of Designed For A Purpose and a counselor to
business people, pastors and laypeople. He is founder and Council
Co-chair of Restoration Enterprises, Inc; the co-founder and
former CEO of Enterprise Development International; founder of
Providence International Foundation, and President of Stewardship
Trust and Set Free Services, Inc. He served in the Reagan
Administration as White House appointee to the Senior Executive
Service.
For additional copies, publications or
information please email:
RobertHancock@charter.net or write to:
P.O. Box 993544, Redding CA 96099. |
