(Psalms 39.6)
“What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short”
This is Saint Paul speaking.
Each one of us has a certain number of
hours, days, years in this world.
We are not here for ever.
God gave us this time to use it,
to live it.
But there is a way and a way how to live it.
Some people drag in life.
They ruin their lives without any focus.
They live in an emptiness, waiting for this comedy to finish.
They get up, work, sleep.
Their only ideal is not to have any worries or complications.
Just like a vegetable.
They live with these commonplace hopes – a day’s outing with the family on a Sunday,
going to the mainland once a year, some quiet time watching a video.
Then there are others who put all their energy on work
as if life were a race without control.
Always on the go.
Always busy.
Time is never enough for them.
They try not to think.
They are scared of quiet.
The more noise around them, the better.
They are always doing something else.
It is as if they are frightened of time.
Well, it is true, time frightens us.
The clock that is always ticking is a constant reminder that
time is passing
our health is waning
our face is getting wrinkled
our hair is turning white
the time that has passed will not come back
my life is moving towards the grave…
And we don’t like this.
The Christian is conscious of this.
But he is relaxed because he has another vision of time.
He knows that time is not emptiness or void.
But it is a moment of grace
Because every moment is a moment in which God is calling and we can reply
every moment is a moment in which God is entering into us.
Every moment, can mean an appointment with God
an invitation for happiness
a challenge to grow in love
an incentive to enter into a deeper intimacy with Him.
So every minute is an enormous personal gift of God for me…
A gift of God if we learn to treasure it,
and take advantage of it.
Saint Paul again :
“Let us not become weary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Yes, the Christian is neither afraid of time
does he need to escape time.
He knows how to work without overdoing it.
He knows how to enjoy himself without exaggerating –
Because he has an aim in life – eternal life.
Above all he has a shoulder to lean on – God’s shoulder.
If for many worldly people, time is precious because it means money,
for the Christian, time is precious because it means eternal life.
Or rather it means something more: it means victory:
because his Beloved
remains forever.
Do your ‘loved ones’ remain for ever?!
“Who will lay whips to my thoughts,
and the discipline of wisdom to my heart,
to be unmerciful to my errors,
and let none of my sins go unchecked
in case my errors multiply,
and I fall before my adversaries,
and my enemy gloats over me?
Lord, father and God of my life,
Do not give me proud eyes,
Turn lust away from me,
Do not let lechery and lust grip me,
Do not give me over to shameless desire.” (Sirach 23.2-6)