Life is better together. It was the hallmark of the very first churches; people reaching out to live life together. It’s still our call for living today.
Last Sunday, eight churches in our community bonded together in an effort called “Reach Out.” Some 1000 volunteers spent 3+ hours throughout the community cleaning gutters, picking up trash, hauling away junk, painting, trimming, visiting and praying…and more. It was a good time of the church BEING the church. Sadly, not everyone knows that the church is not a building. It’s not a set of doctrine. The church is the “body” of believers who are called to live their faith as expressions of love. (Galatians 5:6) Oh that we would express this not just with one great reach out event but daily throughout our lives.
Pastor Cory shared the analogy of winning a daily prize. Imagine if you won a prize that awarded you with $86,400 every single day. You could do a LOT with that kind of blessing, right? But there’s a catch. The prize comes with three rules:
1. You have to spend it all every day. What isn’t spent is lost.
2. You can’t transfer it to another account in hopes of hoarding it.
3. The prize might end any day without notice.
How would you spend your daily allotment of $86,400 every single day? You could buy a bunch of cars, extra properties, and all the latest doodad technologies. You could eat the finest foods and travel to the most expensive places. Or you could feed a lot of people, pay for the tuition for endless students eager to learn if they just had the opportunity. You could provide homes for the homeless and jobs for the jobless. With $86,400 a day, you could have “the time of your life!”
The truth is we are all winners of that very prize, except instead of dollars, our prize is time. Each day we are given 86,400 seconds to spend however we choose. We can indulge ourselves or “spend ourselves on behalf of the hungry” (Isaiah 58:10). The time is ours and granted everyday. We can’t save it and we aren’t guaranteed that we’ll have it renewed tomorrow. We just have today to invest as we choose.
Pastor Cory shared that there are two Greek words for time: “kronos” which signifies the time we measure with a ticking clock, and “kairos” which is a period of opportunity. This “kairos” time is what is mentioned in Colossians 4:5-6:
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
Elizabeth Kubler Ross said that it’s only when we truly understand that we have limited time that we will live fully. Make the most of every opportunity. Live fully. Don’t waste your life. That’s the “kairos” moment you and I have today, and each day…while there is still time remaining. How do you get started?
You could put a sticky note up with the number 86,400 written on it to remind you on the limited time opportunity you have today; the gift you’ve been given to “live wisely.” You could set up a recurring appointment in your calendar to remind you to give daily thanks for the time you have and the wisdom to use it wisely. You could set up an appointment every week or every month to intentionally encourage someone with a note, a phone call, or a gift of service. Go help a neighbor who is sick. Mow their lawn. Bring them a meal or a milk shake. If someone has a big project, offer to help. Send an anonymous gift to someone who is struggling financially. Share the love of God without judging others. There are lots of ways to seize the opportunity and use the time you have for the most impact.
For Christians we have this one call to tell people about the love of Jesus and to live lives that demonstrate that love in practical ways. . . to build the kingdom of God starting right where we are, with the time that is given us.
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” J.R.R. Tolkien
It’s the time of your life. Live it wisely, my friend.