We are tied by time

We are tied by time.  Time determines our daily lives, when to go places, when to eat, sleep, etc.  Time also changes our style of life. For instance as time passes seasons come and go; winter, summer, autumn, spring and with those seasons our routines and clothing changes too.  Genesis retells the account of how God created time.  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.  Gen 1:3-4.

As time is a logical fixation to our ongoing reality, it can also be used in an abstract manner.  Eccl 3:1 says “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens...a time to be born and a time to die...a time to tear down and a time to build...a time to weep and a time to laugh...a time to search and a time to give up...a time to be silent and a time to speak...”

January is the beginning of a New Year once again!  Along with January and the late Merry Christmas wishes from those we didn’t see over the holiday’s season, it also comes with cliché phrases like... “Another fresh new year is here...another year to live!  To banish worry, doubt, and fear, to love and laugh and give...” and who can forget the New Year’s resolutions which make GYM’s memberships go through the roof.

Although you might be thinking I’m sounding pessimistic, miserable and grumpy, what I am trying to put across is that although God created time, and we start a day in the morning and a New Year in January.  To Start with God any day, any hour, any place, any situation, and in any mood are perfect for God to start a new beginning with us.  Even though the start of a year could give us a booster to change, once we move into the year and January becomes a distant memory, the reality of a God who is willing and capable to act at any time is what will sustain you.  God created time but is not tied by it.

We hear the common phrase “time changes us”.  But what it really changes is what occurs during that time.  We could let the hardship of life and the bad experiences change us into someone full of grief, or the successes change us into someone arrogant and self-sufficient.  On the other hand we could make time the witness of how we interact with God, allowing his love to flood us, changing our sorrows into joy, our failures into success.    

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11: 28-30.  This promise is for every day of the year, and all the years to come.