Third Friday of Advent

Got the Time?

​Read Ephesians 5: 15 – 16
I am busy.  You are busy.  We are all busy.  Busyness has become the norm in life.  Author Stephen Covey writes, “People expect us to be busy, overworked.  It’s become a status symbol in our society – if we’re busy, we’re important; if we are not busy, we’re almost embarrassed to admit it.  Busyness is where we get out security.  It’s validating, popular and pleasing.  It’s also a good excuse for not dealing with the first things in our lives.”  Time is a precious commodity and we throw it away thoughtlessly. 

Every minute God has given to us is a gift from Him.  Today’s passage reminds us not to live unwise or as “fools.”  We cannot live foolishly in this life; we need to take advantage of every opportunity that God has placed before us. 

I am reminded in the Gospel of Luke of the story of Mary and Martha.  They were sisters and they invited Jesus over to their house.  When Jesus came, Mary went in at sat at his feet, listened, and worshiped.  She was literally drinking in the words of God Himself and basking in His presence.  Her sister Martha was running around the house making sure the house was clean, cooking the meal, and setting the table.  But Martha had had enough and she goes to Jesus and says, “Jesus, can’t you see I am killing myself trying to get things ready, and my sister, the bum, is just sitting at your feet doing nothing.  Could you please tell her to come help me?”  She thought that maybe Jesus could convince her sister to help around the house a bit.  Do you know what Jesus’ response was?  I can assure you it wasn’t what Martha wanted to hear…
He tells her, “You are wasting your time Martha, doing all these menial things and your sister has chosen what is important, spending time with me is, and I will not take that away from her.” Essentially He was saying that life is too short to be concerned with the little things of this world.  Spend your time on things that really matter. 

Advent is a good time to remember that we need to spend time on what really matters.  We all have the same 24 hours in a day and some have more “free” time than others.  But no matter your age, we need to know that life is short.  We are only a breath away from death.  Since God has given us this precious gift of time, don’t waste it.  Invest in worshiping Him.  This is the way of wisdom.