The Time of Our Lives

What do you make of the following conversation?

Alice: “How long is forever?”

White Rabbit: “Sometimes, just one second.”
       by Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Time is a challenging concept for those who believe in eternity.  We spend our lives dividing an infinite expanse of time into measureable seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, seasons, years, and on and on, ad infinitum.  We know there is an eternity behind us and before us, so why do we focus on the itty-bitty increments that divide it?  Why am I so upset if I’m even one minute late for an appointment?  Should I be aggravated when I am the one waiting and the doctor still hasn’t seen me 30 minutes after my appointed time?

Is it possible we get the time pressure from Scripture itself?  James, the brother of Jesus, wrote this warning to us:

“For what is your life? It is…a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”  (James 4:14)

Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days carefully….”  Though we are told again and again in the Bible that our existence is an eternal one, we are assailed with the reminder that our earthly time is fleeting. 

The key to understanding time, in the Biblical sense, is to realize the New Testament uses TWO words that are translated “time”.  They are chrónos, which refers to “clock time” or time that is measured; and kairós, that speaks more to an “appointed time” or opportune moment.  Chronos identifies time quantitatively, while Kairos sees time as qualitative.

What’s the difference?  We can personify both words for time by using the story of Mary and Martha from Luke 10:38-42.  Martha was the “busy” sister, fretting about all the things that needed to be done to prepare for a visit by Jesus and his disciples.  Martha operated her life based on chronos, or clock time.  Conversely, Martha’s sister, Mary, saw the opportunity to sit at Jesus’ feet and take in everything that moment in time could offer.  Mary saw time as kairos; a moment to be cherished.

Martha was consumed by the passing of time, while Mary was aware that each moment was to be valued BEFORE it passed.  For those of us whose lives will be spent in eternity, which makes the most sense?  We might as well get used to the idea that there is no chronos in heaven!  EVERY moment there will be a kairos moment. 

Why not practice now?  Can you imagine spending a week or a month with no watch or cell phone to tell you what time it is?  What if you had no calendar to tell you how old you are, and no schedule requiring you to stop doing something you enjoy so you can get to the next meeting or appointment?  It might upset the tidy organization of your days, but I would imagine you’d finally find “the time of your life”.

Just for today, I vow not to look at what the clock says and see what happens….

Jacob