Timing is everything. Time is your most valuable asset. Time is money. If we only see time as something to be measured by a clock, calendar or dollars and cents we limit our enjoyment and understanding of the valuable gift of time itself. Time IS a gift from God not a curse of life on Earth. You can read in Genesis 1:3 when God created time by making day and night. Time is such an important gift, He gave it immediately after He created the earth itself. Time is so critical to life He didn’t waste any time in creating it.
Time is not only a quantity it is a quality. The Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. It is imperative to know the difference between the two so that ignorance does not rob and enslave you. Chronos time is measured in minutes, days and years. Kairos time measures moments…like ‘right’ moments and ‘perfect’ moments that are ‘opportune’ times. Chronos time can be a taskmaster that enslaves whereas kairos time can free and liberate.
I have a friend who recognizes a special kairos time and refers to it as ‘goldentime’. Understanding and living in the differences of time is critical to enjoying life, being content and fulfilling your God given purpose. Yes, I believe we are all here for a purpose and fulfilling our purpose in life is more important than retirement or health. Jesus proved this by living his life with a primary focus on kairos time. Once when addressing his immediate family, He stressed the importance of living with kairos time being the driving force for his actions. ‘Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here: for you any time will do. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that it’s works are evil. You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival because my time has not yet fully come.”‘ John 7: 6-8.
The story in John 7 provides a few key takeaways. One, the world’s timing will often be in opposition to God’s timing. Understanding and operating under God’s direction and timing is critical to fulfilling HIS purpose for your life. If we operate by worldly standards there may be more worldly gains, but it may also be in opposition to God’s plan. You have to decide if you want your time to be for worldly gains or heavenly rewards. Understand there IS a difference in time and don’t allow the clock to dictate what is the best course of action without consulting the Holy Spirit. But, that begs the question if you are living for yourself or living for God. Learn to discern the differences in time to get the most out of your life and whom you serve.
The Bible is full of teachings about kairos time. ‘But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son…’ Galatians 4:4. ‘You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.’ Romans 5:6. It is important to recognize the role kairos time plays in our everyday lives because these moments are rich, provide clarity, depth, texture and meaning to life. Kairos moments are outside the confines of a calendar or a clock and take us deeper into life revealing things God wants us to know. ‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:’ Ecclesiastes 3:1.
Yes, God created time with different meaning and purpose. The world we live in tries to get us to focus solely on chronos time. Chronos time can more easily enslave than kairos. Chronos time reminds you life is fleeting and our days are numbered. Save for retirement, time is money, don’t spend your time without a return in mind. On the other hand, God does not exist in chronos time so kairos can give us a glimpse of the divine and free us from this world. ‘But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.’ 2 Peter 3:8.
Without discernment, kairos moments can be confused and seen as ironic and coincidental. Discernment and maturity is helpful to see into and understand the meanings of kairos time. In the movie Dances With Wolves, a relationship bonding a soldier and an Indian develops in the 1860’s. The two characters are enemies to begin with but the soldier becomes a brother to the Indian warrior. Near the end of the story, the warrior tells the soldier he now believes his best friend died in order to prepare the way for the soldier to come into his life and heart. Understanding there is more to time than measuring it, gives clarity to how God works through moments in time. God uses kairos time to reveal how He develops character and fulfills your purpose.
The importance of living with a full understanding of time is critical because we have an enemy that wants to steal, kill and destroy your time. If you only see time as money, then money will become your god. If time is strictly measured in weeks and months then controlling your calendar will become an obsession. Death will be a ticking clock to create fear, anxiety and regret. Focusing on chronos alone can rob you of growing closer to God. The clock becomes an enemy instead of an opportunity to experience the gift of life.
In 2019, if you want to live life to the fullest, if you want a glimpse of the divine and eternal, if you want to be free and experience the gift of time God has given you, learn to see the ‘whens’. This year, focus and discern the kairos moments and not just the passing of time.