Feb 25, 2012
Taking Root: Killing Time
Taking Root is a series of meditations I’m writing and editing for Central Vineyard Church during the season of Lent. You can download a podcast for each day of Lent by subscribing to my church’s podcast or visiting the podcast blog for each day of the series.
We have some pretty crazy ways of talking about time. It’s like we’re in this abusive, exploitative relationship with time that passes through dramatic ups and downs.
- We keep time.
- We lose time.
- We save time.
- We kill time.
- We make time.
- We spend time.
- We waste time.
- We guard time.
- We fight time.
We always wish for more time.
On one hand, time is one of the most precious gifts we can give to someone else. On the other hand, it can be a slave master that rules us—prodding us to move faster, to do more, and to feel guilty. The guilt of how we spend our time can be crushing.
Time isn’t the problem.
Our problems come from our adversarial, sometimes overly sentimental relationships with time.
Time is a Gift from God
God is present in our days, using us for his purposes. He gives us these limited amounts of time on earth so that we can accomplish his Kingdom work. This is an essential starting point.
If time is my own, then I will guard it from others and fight to use it as I desire. If time comes from God, then I don’t need to fight, struggle, or save. God does the saving, and I do the following.
God Wants to Use Time
Each day doesn’t have to begin like a race we are losing. We can begin by seeking God’s desire for us and for our days. I often find that an attitude of submission and seeking that is directed toward God’s desire for my day can make the difference.
I begin to fight against time when I’ve elevated my own desires to a place where I can’t find God or his desires.
We don’t need to struggle with time. In reality, any struggle against time is a struggle against ourselves and neglects God’s presence in our lives. God wants to heal our relationship with time, leading us to a place where we can find his peace and rest each day as we line ourselves up with his desires and direction.
We’ll have enough time if we have enough of God.
The Greenhouse
Take a minute to thank God for today and to offer your time to him.
There’s a Celtic saying that goes like this, “When God made time, he made enough of it.” Take a few minutes to reflect on this. Is there one thing on your schedule where that feels untrue? What is God saying to you about that today?
People tell me they don’t have time to write, and yet God gave us enough time. Though lately time has become Godzilla storming the Japanese town. Been trying to tame it back to where it’s managable again. LOL.
One of the most captivating articles you’ve written, Ed. Very wellcrafted, too. (I didn’t have time to finish it but I’ll catch it later. Just kidding.) I can sense the honesty of the lessons you’ve learned in this. This would make a nice poster for my wall!
That was an awesome joke!
I’ve been thinking about infographics a lot lately. Maybe I’ll need to explore that a bit.