Luke 12:25 – Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (NIV)

"So much to do; so little time to do it in."

Do you ever have the feeling that time is running out and all the things that you have planned are never going to be accomplished? I guess I'm at that stage in my life right now, when I have to decide what I am going to specialize in for the rest of my days. I love writing, painting, singing, song-writing, doing crafts, fishing, going places, reading books, planning lessons, leading studies, telling stories to kids, watching movies, etc, etc, etc. The list is endless and I've only so much time to cram it all in.

I'm sure that we're all like that. We want our lives to make a difference in the world, so we hope that what we choose to do will make an impact in our churches, community, and world. We want to make the best use of our allotted days, but time is like a river: it moves on regardless of how much we try to slow it down or extend our lives. As Robert Burns, Scotland's greatest poet, once wrote, "Time and tide wait for no man."

Jesus reminds us that we are all finite creatures. We can't add anything to our years, not even a single hour. We come and go as God wills, and that is sometimes pretty hard to accept. We all want to live forever, but our times are in God's hands, so no matter what we do, there will be a moment when we leave earth and enter into eternity.

That's where making good use of our lives is very important. We all want to make a difference; we all want to make an impact — but is that only for ourselves, or is it to glorify Christ? Our lives are in His hands, but our choices are our own. Do we choose Christ and eternal bliss, or do we choose ourselves with no everlasting hope?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to weigh our lives in eternal terms and to understand that the choices we make here on earth affect our future in eternity. Grant us the courage to reach out to You and take You into our hearts. In Your holy name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

John Stuart <traqair@aol.com>
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
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