Finding extra time can be challenging since we have so much to do. It is Monday morning and I have to get up and go to work. So for the next eight or ten hours the clock belongs to someone else and I am at my job’s mercy. Then my work day ends and time is mine, but is it? The yard needs mowing, the kids have to be somewhere, or my wife wants me to baby-sit.
Finally it is the weekend and so I should have more free time to do what I want. Oh, no!!! I forgot about the “honey-do” list, those dreaded chores your wife or husband expects you to do in your free time. Now I need to hang the pictures and move the furniture. Or perhaps a stay-at-home mom hopes her husband will give her a “break” on Saturday, but her husband plans to go golfing.
We realize it is hard to find spare time to do all we want, need, or should. As a result, if we are going to find the time to do something it will have to come from somewhere else. This means we will have to decide what is important to us and then make time to get it done. (1 Tim. 4:8)
Some people feel they are just too busy to go to the doctor even when they should. They may ignore their illness and just hope they get better. But will happen if they have a serious medical problem? They might get worse and even endanger their life. We need to find the time to take care of our health when we are sick.
Just as we should want to get well physically, we should want to get well spiritually. While we have a choice between many medical doctors, there is only one who can heal us spiritually. Jesus is the only specialist able to cure sin. (Mark 2:17) Unfortunately, most refuse to go to Christ for healing, and for many it is a time issue. They would rather spend their hours and days doing something else.
Some people may also refuse to go to the doctor because they are afraid of surgery or prolonged rehab. These take time they feel they don’t have. While such logic is foolish, people do think this way sometimes. However, once convinced it is a life or death matter, they usually take the sensible course.
Sadly, many will not go to Christ for the same reason. They do not like His cure for sin or the rehab needed to change their lives. (John 8:24) “Religions” know this and so they try to make religious service as easy as possible. They just stop talking about anything people do not what to hear. Tell them the Lord’s Church and faithful worship is unimportant. Make sure you water down truth’s message and avoid doctrinal issues in your teaching. Unfortunately, such advice comes from “quacks” who know nothing about the disease of sin or its cure. They seek preachers who will tell them what they want to hear because they do not have much time for sin’s cure. (2 Tim. 4:3-4)
Some people want to feel as if they are religious without spending time in religion. But how is this possible? The Lord built His Church by dying on the cross (Acts 20:28), and local flocks came from New Testament teaching. By Peter’s preaching, the church began in Jerusalem. (Acts 2:41&47) Much of Paul’s preaching focused on setting up local congregations. It is absurd to think you can please God and not be active in His Church. (1 Tim. 3:15)
I believe many try to lessen the importance of local churches because they simply do not want to spend the time it takes to be faithful. They want to feel good about their lack of service. However, no one can please God without serving Him, and that includes giving their time to the church’s work. (Heb. 13:21)
We are also to find time to read and study the Bible (1 Tim. 4:13-16), pray regularly (1 Thess. 5:17), and attend worship. (Heb. 10:25) Then God wants us to show our love for others by the way we visit the sick and widows. (James 1:27) We must teach the lost and encourage one another, but that takes time as well.
What we need to understand is that serving God is a time intensive choice. God forces no one to follow Jesus or to become a Christian, however, if you choose this life then it comes with great duty. (Col. 1:10) Someone announces about a brother or sister needing our help. Are you eager to volunteer your time, do you regularly offer to help, or is it something you almost never do? (Matt. 25:34-46) What about a potluck hosted by members, do you attend often and bring “plenty” for everyone to eat? (Rom. 12:13) Do you volunteer you time to teach our children at Bible study, and then do you do a good job preparing for the task? (Heb. 5:12)
I could continue with hundreds of examples of chances to serve, but the point is not about what you do with each chance. The question we need to ask ourselves is simple, do we step up consistently and regularly in service. No one can do everything, but if we eagerly volunteer our time we will have no problem getting the jobs done. We need to wisely redeem the time God has given us by finding the time to serve Him. (Eph. 5:15-17)
Terry Starling
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Travis and Lacy Starling are the new parents of Leah Grace. Leah was born Tuesday weighing 7 pounds 14 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches long. All are doing well, including grandparents, Terry and Deidra.