Manning Pastor Sam Livingston: The war against time each day of our lives
Imagine waking up each day and not having to worry about when the sun rises in the morning or vanishes for the evening. How interesting would it be to not have a clock running on your cellphone or computer? This could end up being both a pro and a con depending on who the participants are. For the person who is always pursuing an end result, the thought of not having to deal with time can mean more productivity. For the procrastinator, this could mean getting next to nothing done. Each day we live, we are in a war against time.
Most people have some sort of competitive nature. We compete with others materially, we compete athletically, we compete financially, and we compete in the majority of things we engage in. We have evolved to be competitive in nature. Your neighbor purchases a vehicle with 550 horsepower, and the next year you secure one with 625 horsepower. Your girlfriend trades in her spouse for a new Boo, so you walk out on a 20-year marriage to get one up on her. At some point, the madness must stop. The reality of the matter is this. There will always be somebody who possesses something superior to what you have. Just be thankful for what you have and happy for the next person for what the Lord blessed them with. When time expires, none of what we competed for will matter.
We are in a constant battle with father time. If we could come up with a mathematical equation to capture time, we would certainly be the recipients of every high achievement honor. Time waits on no one. A brief step through history will bring us all to the same conclusion, nothing and no one lasts forever. We are in a constant battle with time. Sometimes we feel victorious, and other times we fail as the victim of a superior opponent called time.
We read in the book of Job, "Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? Are not his days also like the days of an hireling?" Job 7:1
We all have an appointment with time to exit this world on our way to eternity. Is it even possible to defeat time? There are some who feel that they have robbed time. Their thought, however, is very short lived. When it comes to time, we can only make the best of and appreciate what has been given to us.
We should avoid wasting time because we can never reclaim it. Besides the measurement of time chronologically and keeping track of it within a calendar year, time is mystical. We cannot buy five pounds of time. We cannot put time on layaway to be picked up at a later date. We cannot go outside and identify 4:30 p.m. If we go into a coma for two weeks, the only way we will know what time and day it is is if someone or something tells us. Time has always been in existence, but it only became of value to us when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden. From the sin in the garden until now, we have been in a constant battle with time.
One thing remains the same, ultimately time crosses the finish line first, leaving us with nothing to carry away from the contest. This is why we take nothing with us when our time expires. Death means that we have lost the battle with time.
Eternity, however, is where time is erased. John said, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." Revelation 21:1-3
In God We Trust
Sam Livingston is pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Manning.