It's Not Too Late

As seen in the HEARTbeat and the Village Voice

“It’s Not Too Late”

            We are sticklers for timetables, some more than others.  We rise to the sound of an alarm clock, we prepare meals in accordance with a perceived eating schedule, and we go to bed almost at the same time every night.  We are creatures of habit.

            In the olden days, people measured time by the seasons.  They read the signs of the coming Spring, like the appearance of a bird, a robin.  At its appearance, the farmers knew Spring was just around the corner.  In the fall, the harvest was scheduled according to the moon, specifically the harvest moon.  The term "harvest moon" refers to the full, bright Moon that occurs closest to the start of autumn. The name dates from the time before electricity, when farmers depended on the Moon's light to harvest their crops late into the night.  It is the closest full moon to the autumnal equinox, where the daylight hours and nighttime hours are equal.

            In ancient Egypt, the sun was used to tell time.  The Egyptians used sundials for counting the passage of time during the day and used water clocks, bowls filled with water with a tiny hole which allowed the water to slowly drip out, to count the passage of time at night.  Additionally, they used events during the year, such as the flooding of the Nile, to measure planting and harvesting seasons.

            I am a detail nut.  I like knowing what time of day it is and how much I can get done to save time.  It was drilled in me by the Army Warrant Officer Candidate School at Ft. Rucker, Alabama.  At that school, everything was timed to the second each and every day, from lights out to the wakeup routine in the morning.  The candidates even had exactly 7 minutes to get from a made-up bed, to dressed in our physical training uniform, to standing in formation – three floors below in the assembly area.  The attention to detail is engrained into the Army Warrant Officer.

            Did Jesus concern Himself with time?  He certainly did.  After He came off Mt. Tabor where He was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, scripture tells us He headed south along the Jordan River.  He knew the time for His crucifixion was drawing close.  Jesus’ mindset is recorded in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 9, verse 51.  It says, “As the time approached for Him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”  His time with the apostles and His disciples was drawing to a close.  Jesus began to focus on teaching them in earnest, hoping to get them to understand what the next few weeks would bring, but also on what the future would hold for them, after He had ascended to God the Father.

            Is time drawing near for you to end your earthly life?  We like to think we have all the time in the world, but we only have a finite time in this world.  We never know when that time will come to an end.  If you have not already done so, make a decision to follow Christ and spend eternity in Heaven.  We will all spend eternity somewhere.  The location is entirely up to you.