So many (fill in the blank), so little time. From the moment we’re born, it’s a race to the finish line. We are always in a hurry to get somewhere else. Deadlines to meet. We spend more time worrying about time when we don’t have the time to worry about it. Time is fleeting. As time goes by. Great timing. I don’t have time, mom. Time, time, time. It’s ticking. It’s moving along and there’s nothing we can do about it. If we just had a little more time. Seconds, minutes, hours, weeks, months and years; oh my! The time from here to there. There’s not enough time. Some say they’ve got too much time on their hands. Others hate time. There’s not enough of it. We hurry from oasis to oasis, from vacation to vacation, from all the time at work. At work, we think of when I get time off. On vacation, we spend our time thinking how fast time flies when you’re having fun. Why is it that time marches on faster on vacation then while at work, or so it seems? The anticipation of time can be frustrating, if not frightening. Eventually, time comes to an end. Death, is the end of time for all of us, or is it?
Some worry about time. “How much time do I have left, doc?” “I’m two weeks late.” “You have 15 minutes left on this examination.” “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. We have ignition.” Some have nothing but time. Those unfortunate souls deliberately placed themselves there, or did they? Some are existentialists or pantheistic. Time is illusory. Others, well, they couldn’t care less about time because they simply don’t have the capacity to fathom the concept of time. Whatever the case, time, in one way or another, has governed the lives of just about everyone that ever existed or ever will exist. Is time a friend or is it a curse? The answer is yes. It depends on your point of view. For those who are atheists, this time they have on this rock is all they’ve got. Not much time. For others, well, there’s the illusion of time. There really is no such thing as time. Still others believe that there is another time after this time. Life after life. More time.
There’s a simple question that must be answered by all of us: is time simply a product of a mindless, purposeless, empty, chaotic post “Big Bang” universe that randomly happened or was it created by God? Does time have us trapped like prisoners without possibility of “parole” or do we have eternity to look forward to? See, that’s the question, isn’t it? If time on this planet is all we have, then time becomes an obsession. There is no time. Eat, drink, and be merry, right? It’s somewhat difficult to conceptualize consequence when there just isn’t enough time. Sure, one can get duped into doing the right thing, good morals and behaviors, help your fellow human and all that, but the clock is ticking, and then what? No time. Your dead. Poof! Gone. Next. Some find that comforting because then they become their own god and can do whatever they want and in their own time. The reality is, people governed by their own god are surprisingly unsettled about time. So, what then? What about God? Are we just taking up space like rocks or any other matter on this planet or do we have a purpose for this time we’ve been given?
Let’s suppose there is a God. Let’s go one step further, He’s personal. Even more, He created the universe and all of humankind so that we could have relationship with Him. Furthermore, He promises eternal life with Him! Don’t you think that our perspective of time would change? Maybe then, instead of thinking about ourselves, we could think more freely about others because, well, we’ve got time. In fact, eternity is a long time. How long? Well, a college professor of mine described it this way: “A bird come to the top of Mount Everest and pecks at it for one hour and then flies off only to come back every million years until Mount Everest is reduced to rubble. And then, you still have eternity!” I think one’s perspective might change a little, don’t you? Of course, some fear time after death. What if there’s Hell? Most people who believe there’s a Hell don’t think they’re going there. That’s interesting, isn’t it. Most people in fact think they’re good. Well, they’ve may have sinned once or twice, but nothing so drastic that would merit Hell. Hell is for the really bad people, like Hitler, Stalin, and such. The majority, well, are decent folk, meritorious of a pass to their cloud on the highway to Heaven, where most of their friends will be, not to mention family as well. Yes, a good time in Heaven with all the good folk and, plenty of time to enjoy it too.
Truth be told, no one is good. Not a single person who ever existed, or ever will exist. Yes, there’s much argument about this. Not everyone agrees. But, what if I’m right? See, most people think that there is a God and that there is eternity, and they’re going to Heaven. Yet, that’s not quite correct. For example, if God does exist, then He’s holy, set apart, eternally good, incapable of sinning. Well, sin is a rebellion against a holy God. There’s not one single human that has not sinned at least once. I hope we can agree on that one. The problem is, sin and God do not mix. God will not allow sin where He resides, which is Heaven. So, there’s the rub. One sin, yes, guess what, Hell. Why? Well, read back a few lines. God and sin don’t mix. That’s why. There’s a problem. We are the problem. There are no good people without sin. Not one. So, our default position is, you guessed it, Hell. You might ask, what does all of this have to do with time? Eternity. Bingo! That’s a long time spending it in Hell. One might ask, is that fair of God? It’s not really anything bad we’ve done and eternity is such a long time, couldn’t He just forgive us and let it go? Well, read back. God is holy. No sin in Heaven. He’s just. He can’t let it go. You can’t stand before a judge after you got a ticket for going through a red light and say: “Your honor, well, you see, the previous 99 lights I went through were green. Couldn’t you let me off for this one?” That seems to be faulty logic. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, the punishment for the crime of sinning against an infinite God merits an infinite punishment. Hence, Hell. You got it, and without possibility of parole. Some say, who cares. Hell will be fine. I’ll be with all my friends there. It’ll be alright. I’ve got some bad news for those who think Hell won’t be that bad; it will! See, we are under common grace. Grace. That’s God’s way of giving humankind something they don’t deserve. God also gives mercy. Mercy is not getting what we do deserve. So, while we’re alive on this planet, we’ve got choices and we’ve got grace and mercy. Yes, Earth can be a real drag with all the pain and suffering but there’s always hope. It called common grace. God given. Guess what? In Hell, no common grace. No hope. No communication with God. Everlasting torment.
But wait, there’s good news. Jesus. Yes, Jesus. For those who believe in Him, He took on our sin at the cross and you got His righteousness so you are now justified before a holy God and can spend eternity with Him. There are many that react badly about Jesus. Some say He’s intolerant. Why not, Allah, Buddha, the sun? Well, it’s complicated. Jesus claimed to be God. Look it up. So, either He was a weirdo and is buried in some mass grave somewhere, or worse, He was a liar and deceived everyone that has believed in Him for the last two thousand years or He was telling the truth; He’s God. So, if true, as God, He’s sinless, goes to the cross to bear the sins of everyone that ever existed or ever will exist, so that we could be reconciled to a holy God (The Father). I know, it’s confusing because we haven’t mentioned about the Trinity, so it gets complicated again. At any rate, you got two choices as C.S. Lewis stated: “One can say to God, ‘Thy will be done.’ Or God can say to one, ‘Thy will be done.’” I guess you got to pick a side, yours or God’s. And remember, time is ticking!