Acts 4:13 (NIV)
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
“Time waits for no man”. This classic saying is profoundly true. From the moment we are conceived in our mother’s womb, an estimated date of delivery is pronounced to time our birth – estimated by the obstetrician through collected data for calculation but determined by the Creator right to the precise seconds. The timer is switched on to clock our days the moment we are ushered into this world. Carefully embedded and attached in our body is the unseen timer – the heartbeat. Our eyes run life’s race with the seen clock. Our heartbeat ticks away the seconds with the vigour of life. Our biological clock stops with the last heartbeat recorded. Time is a gift of God. Given to be used. It is one gift that is impossible to keep. Hiding the gift of time is impossible. Storing time in a safe box to be used later is not an option. Freezing time will not happen except one extraordinary divine moment recorded in the Bible when Joshua commanded the sun to stand still (Joshua 10:12).
Hymn To Time
Time says “Let there be”
every moment and instantly
there is space and the radiance
of each bright galaxy.
And eyes beholding radiance.
And the gnats’ flickering dance.
And the seas’ expanse.
And death, and chance.
Time makes room
for going and coming home
and in time’s womb
begins all ending.
Time is being and being
time, it is all one thing,
the shining, the seeing,
the dark abounding.
By Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018)
“Time is being and being” – being is shaped by the who and what we have been with. Equal share of 24 hours is given to everyone. How many portions of 24 hours each has been bestowed is dependent on individual assignment on earth – well thought and divinely calculated by the Great Designer for growth, work, fun, and rest.
An incredible quota of man’s time is accredited to being busy. Productivity, so we call it. Yet for many, time flew with idleness. These days idleness is not mere sitting staring into space. Idleness in this era is lethargy of the soul while the eyes glued on Netflix or the fingers occupied scrolling the newsfeed of social media. Who and what have we been with?
Peter and John were ordinary men. Unschooled. No formal education. To the world of academicians they had lots of learning gaps. Yet, when the people saw their courage, they were astonished. Where do they yield this kind of courage? They noticed an impressive dominant mark – they had been with Jesus. Courage is brewed in that close contact. Learning occurred naturally through walking, watching and working with Jesus (Matthew 11:28).They were not worn out but always full of vitality and vigour. Just simply by being with Jesus. “Be-ing” is a present participle tense of the action of the “be”. It tells of that ongoing process of that existence. “Been” is the past participle of “be”. So that existence was shaped. So who shapes our existence depends on who or what we have been – time spent with.
King Solomon reminds us to walk with the wise to become wise. He warns the suffering harm when we have fools as our companion. We become like those we spend time with. If our prayer is to become more like Jesus, then the only way is to spend time with him – quantity and quality time.
“Time waits for no man”. Spend it well. Spend it wisely. Spend it with Jesus. Courage is a dominant factor for faith living.
Courage is cultivated in the company of Christ.
Is he our companion? If he is, then fear not. Courage is our asset.
© Pr Selina Khoo Lim, Gateway City Church, Penang. 19 May 2020.