As beings who live within the construct of time, the marking of time is a behavior common to all those who draw breath.
To keep track of this thing called time, we have watches, iPhones, computers, the sun, the moon, the stars, calendars, and the passing of time is clearly evident in the aging of our bodies.
Today, as we collectively add a higher digit to our calendars, my morning reading in the Bible had me contemplating this creation of God that we call time.
You see, according to the Genesis account, time was something that was created and had a beginning:
And God said,
“Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (Genesis 1:3-5 ESV)
Furthermore, the book of Revelation tells us that a day is coming when time will be no more. A new heaven and a new earth will usher in a new paradigm of eternity to the children of God.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. (Revelation 21:1 ESV)
So you see, out of eternity past, God has measured out a construct that we call time. It has a beginning, and it has an end.
Giving further consideration to this thing called time, when Jesus began his public ministry, the first words out of his mouth were:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2 ESV)
So, it would appear that we are nearing the end of this thing called time. As the Mayans have recently demonstrated, no one knows when this day will be.
I wonder, with the passing of another year, shouldn't we, as C.S. Lewis said, "put first things first, and second things second"?
Sure, we all have a myriad of personal behaviors and goals for 2013. And this is good. But, shouldn't our first thing be to know God. And isn't the number one place that God has revealed himself to us found in the Scriptures?
Consequently, our #1 New Year's resolution must be to set aside a quiet time each day to spend some time in God's Holy Word.
Will you join me?
In the tradition of Jonathan Edwards, say this: "I resovle to spend each day, for the rest of my life, seeking to know and understand God as he has revealed himself to us in his Holy Word. Amen!
I pray that 2013 will be the year that you look back upon and say, "that was the year that marked my close relationship with God".
Happy 2013!
PS: Please forgive the horrid formatting on this post. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what was wrong.
