Wednesday, November 11, 2015

We’ve been considering how Jesus managed His life in relation to an awareness of time. He didn’t allow the pressures of life and circumstance to determine His schedule. He ordered His life deliberately and knew the appropriate time for His actions and words. When He came to the end of His life He did not have to worry about having missed an opportunity, or miscalculated an initiative or response. Listen to the opening part of His high priestly prayer in John 17: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you…I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” Wow! Isn’t that amazing. When the time of His departure came He had no regrets, no fear of having failed, no second thoughts. Paul, like Jesus, could say that his goal in life was to “finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24). Then, writing from prison at the end of his life he could say, “The time has come for my departure. I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8). Did you pick up that phrase, “not only to me”? That means you and I can order our lives in such a way that we could have an assurance similar to Paul’s when the time of our departure arrives You can choose now to make the most of the time you have left. Choose wisely.