Today’s blog will start with a little riddle. It is something that goes on forever, but we never seem to have enough of it. You can spend it, but you can’t buy it or trade for it. Once it is gone, you can never get it back. I’m sure by now most of you have guessed that I am talking about time.
This time of year, with the holidays and being busy with work, it seems to be the third theme of the holiday season. First being grateful, then the birth of Jesus, and then not having enough time. If I am completely honest though, for me it comes up all the time just more so around the holidays.
So, by now I am sure you are wondering what does time have to do with the Bible? Well, actually it has a lot to do with the Bible. The core of the Bible is about us having a relationship with the creator, with God. In Revelation 3:20-21 it says,
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
He wants to have a relationship with us. However, no relationship exists without time. Obviously right? If I have a girlfriend and I never call her, never take her out, and never spend time with her, how long will it be before she finds a new boyfriend? Not long. No relationship can grow without time.
This idea should be obvious to most. It is a pretty simple idea, but do we apply it to our relationship with Jesus? I find that when I am pressed for time, it is my time that I have set aside to spend with Jesus and the things that I have agreed to do for the sake of the kingdom that go first. I don’t have time to pray today, I’m going to skip reading my Bible so I can sleep a little longer, or I don’t have time to write a blog this week.
In my mind I think surely Jesus will understand, and these other things are really important. My answer to this is, of course He understands that sometimes there are emergencies that may interrupt our time. However, it also says in Exodus 34:13-14,
“But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
So, yes, sometimes there are emergencies, but if we consistently miss our time with Jesus, are there idols in our lives that we need to tear down? In Mathew 6:19-21 it say,
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
I propose that time is one of our greatest treasures. When we are born, we are given a limited amount. Each day, month, year, and life only has so much to allocate to what we find important, and as it starts to run out, it becomes even more important. So where we place our time (just like money or riches), is where our heart is.
Remember the story of the widow’s mite in Mark 12:38-44? Even though it was a small amount, it was everything she had down to the last bit. Jesus praised her sacrifice above the scholars and the wealthy, because she gave all that she had.
So next time I say that I don’t have time to spend with Jesus, I will stop and ask myself, “Is the thing I’m doing that important, or is it just an idol in my life that I am serving rather that serving Him?”
Hope you have a great week walking in His purpose and His plan.
— Written by Jeremiah
Meet the authors.
Listen to us discuss our blogs on our YouTube channel.