Healing Rays of Righteousness

The same God who created time and worked in time, sending his Son in the fullness of time to rescue, redeem, and adopt us, as His children, will someday say with a trumpet shout, “There will be no more delay!” (Rev. 10:6), and earthly time is ended. But, more likely, before God’s final shout, ending time, he will whisper to you during one heartbeat moment, “Your time on earth is ended. Come home.”

That is why the apostle Paul writes, “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:2). And it is why Jesus said, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Mt. 24:42).  And so, the passing of time, which we call aging, is not just for the elderly, but is an urgent reality for all of us, whatever our calendar age.

God created time and gives it to us human beings as a gracious gift, heartbeat by heartbeat. I like to think of time as being an individually designed package of life, which is gift-wrapped by God and sent to us, heartbeat by heartbeat. And, most importantly, what we do with this precious gift very directly shapes our future eternal destination in a world of either life, light, and love in God’s Kingdom or the opposite realities in Satan’s Kingdom.

For that reason the apostle Paul admonished the Ephesian Christians, “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” (Eph. 5:15-17).

But sadly, when confronted by God’s Spirit with this truth, many respond with, “Lord, I understand what you are saying to me and what I need to do. And sometime, Lord, I will accept your invitation and become a Christian. Sometime, I will turn my life over to you, be baptized, and commit myself to being a Jesus follower. Yes, Lord, sometime I will get around to accepting your invitation. But right now, I am too busy enjoying all that is available to me in this world.”

And sadly, many a marriage relationship has crashed, causing immense pain and suffering to family and children, because a spouse, or both, have said, “Sometime soon, Lord, I am going to take my marriage vows seriously and work at building a love relationship that endures. Sometime I am going to be the dad or mother my children need me to be. Yes, Lord, sometime I will do that, but right now I am just too busy enhancing my career, trying to get ahead in this world, preparing for my family’s future.”

From my earlier years, I remember the story of a very popular musician by the name of Jim Croce. He wrote a song entitled, “Time in a Bottle,” in which he said he was going to put “time” in a bottle. He was going to put a cork in the bottle and bottle up “some time.” Then when he needed “some time” for his family, or with his friends, he could uncork the bottle and take “some time” out to enjoy life with them.

However, it was less than twelve months from the day he recorded the song that he was killed in a plane crash, and his bottle of “sometime” was smashed to pieces. The truth is that bottled “sometime” is seldom, if ever, used as was planned. Today is the time that God has given us. “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:2).

Today is the only time we hold in our hands, as Bill and Gloria Gaither sing so beautifully; “We have this moment to hold in our hands, and to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand. Yesterday’s gone and tomorrow may never come, but we have this moment today.”

Now is the time to serve the King of kings and Lord of lords! Now is the time to prepare for our future life in the timeless world of eternal love in God’s Kingdom. Now is the time to do what I want to accomplish before my time in this world of time is ended? Now is the time to be the person I want people to fondly remember me being?

My friend, now is the time to “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.” (Song by Helen Lemmel).

And, yes, Thanksgiving Day is a time to gratefully thank God for his gift of time.

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Ray M. Geigley – “Healing Rays of Righteousness” – www.geigler13.wordpress.com – 11/20/2024