When your beloved leaves, don’t worry because time is on your side. At least that is what Jerry Ragovoy would have us believe in his ballad made famous by the Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger convinces us that if we wait long enough, she will come back because time is on our side. But, is time really on man’s side? Could Mick be wrong? The Bible teaches that time is not on our side. It marches on relentlessly and stops abruptly. It is reported to be evil. Having a healthy understanding of time is essential to Christian living.
Time moves forward
Once God made time stand still. In Joshua 10, when the Amorites threatened Israel, God promised victory and stopped the sun. Other than that, time has always moved forward despite Superman’s lament when Lois died. Time is hot lava slowly crawling down the mountain, consuming everything in its path, unstoppable, uncaring, and uncontrollable. As the seconds tick away, the world ages, and eternity draws nearer. Time is not on our side.
Solomon wrote about the effects of time on our bodies in Ecclesiastes 12. Time erases beauty, wrinkles the skin, and causes the hair to turn grey (or turn loose). Teeth fall out and strength fails as we waste away (cf. 2 Cor 4:16). Time is not on our side.
Time is short
James then has the audacity to remind us that our time on this earth is short. He compares it to steam rising from a kettle: “For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Hate, violence, and disasters cut off many lives before their time. Even without tragedy, life is short. Time is not on our side.
Then to top it all off, Paul says we need to make the best use of the time, “Because the days are evil” (Eph 5:15-16). Paul was talking about the temptations a debased world impresses upon Christians. The longer we live, the more we must endure, and the greater chance we have of leaving the path. We don’t do well with waiting. Time is not on our side.
Focus on the goal
It’s like walking into a crowded post office. You are focused on your goal. After a few minutes, you check your watch and compare it to the clock on the wall. Soon you are looking at your phone, checking messages or playing a game. Before you know it, you are settling into a cross-stitch of a gory postal scene. As you thread that needle with a dark red thread, your number is called and you snap back to reality. Except you’re not ready, you have to put away your phone, stitching hoop, and Gatorade and look for your letters to mail, which takes more time and causes the person behind you to stitch one more victim into their canvas. We are not good at waiting; that’s why the days are evil. Time is not on our side.
However, God is on our side, and he tells us how to use time. We must use it for the good of our souls, looking forward to the day when we will have nothing but time. And even then, time will only be on our side if we use it wisely while on earth.
Preaching Minister