“I can’t wait for this pandemic to end!”  

Finally, I said it!  With all of the profound effects this situation has been having on life here on earth, I began pondering what has actually made enduring this pandemic difficult.  It is restrictive.  It is limiting.  It is stressful.  People have lost family and friends, jobs and income, physical security, and financial stability.  The normalcy of our old routines has been replaced by prolonged uncertainty.  Life for no one has remained unaffected.  I was thinking about the frustrations of the day, and realizing that I’d essentially had the same frustrations for the past couple of weeks.  Then it dawned on me that, as I took account of the weeks and months we have been under this pandemic, time has continued to pass.  Despite things slowing down and even grinding to a halt across the world, God’s gift of precious time has not slowed down even one second! 

Time.  It is essentially irrelevant to God.  He is not bound by it at all.  As 2 Peter 3:8 says, “…with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”  Yet, as human beings, we mark the passing of time with birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, New Year observations, and more!  As time continues on, we make future plans for ourselves sometimes giving little thought to the significance of every precious minute.  

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. –James 4:13-14 (NIV)

“What will happen tomorrow?”  We have no real control over what happens today OR tomorrow!  This truth is even more apparent these days!  Many of us had big plans for this year when the pandemic upended things.  All we actually have is the present moment with its opportunity to do what God would have us to do.  Even for those who live lengthy lives, our time here on earth is still relatively short.  This makes the warning in Ephesians 5 as important as ever.

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. –Ephesians 5:15-16 (NIV)

At the start of this pandemic, after the initial shock wore off, the extra free time was a treat!  Those of us not serving on the frontlines found time to connect with others in our homes, to cook more at home, to pick up those long-delayed projects, and to take better care of ourselves.  We’ve had more time to pray and connect with God as well.  As the time under this pandemic has continued to pass, we have begun to tire of the extra free time.  Most of us just want things to return to normal.  We want to make money.  We want to get busy working and living our regular lives again.  We want to entertain and to be entertained.  Perhaps, God, being in control of everything, wants us to take this lesson about time to heart.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. –Titus 3:3-8 (NIV)

Great people of all statuses have passed away in recent months, and their time on earth is now done.  Some lived long lives, and some lived rather short lives.  Some were famous, and some were not.  Some of these great people, no doubt, cause us to reflect on the way we have lived our own lives.  I heard someone say, “I think I’m too old now to do anything more with my life.”  I heard someone else say, “I’ve already gone too far down this path.”  But the Word of God frees every one of us to take advantage of the opportunity we have right now!  That should give us all some hope right now!  God doesn’t want us to worry about the opportunities we may have missed when we were being foolish and disobedient.  God doesn’t want us to waste any more of our time looking back over what we should have done with our past opportunities.  God wants us to be mindful of the time we have now—right now—to make a choice to live for Him, and to simply do good! 

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. – Ecclesiastes 3:12 (NIV)

It does not matter whether you are young or old, rich or poor, famous or not, or what.  We each have only 24 hours a day at our disposal.  One day, every one of us will have to give an account for how we used our time here on earth, so we must be careful.  Let us all devote the time we have remaining, no matter how long that may be, to live for the glory of God!  Do good while you can!