MINUTE WALTZ
Last week, Sheila and I helped out at Back Bay Elementary School during their Jump Rope for Heart activities. Jump Rope for Heart is sponsored by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and it is a way to raise funds and promote awareness and prevention for heart disease.
The way it was set up in Back Bay was that there were fifteen teams and fifteen stations. Each station had a different activity and the teams rotated amongst the stations. The particular station I was administering was the exercise step. Each child had to step up and down on this stair for the period of a minute. Seems simple, but you try it! It was fun to watch them as they started off full speed, then slowed down considerably before the minute came to a close. Some even came to a screeching halt before their minute transpired.
Now, I warned the kids that they needed to pace themselves--otherwise they would get very tired. Some listened, others didn't, but everyone was surprised at how difficult this particular exercise was. All of them considered it a very long minute indeed!
When you think about it, a minute is a pretty insignificant time span. We don't use them on their own very much do we? I mean, even poaching an egg takes three of them! Usually a minute goes by so fast that we really don't notice. If I were to say anything about my perception of time, it seems to me that months and years are zooming by, so I usually let the minutes take care of themselves. But, in this situation, a minute was a loooong time.
It's funny, isn't it? We often think that time is a static thing. By that I mean, the way in which we measure time is defined and unchanging. But if we talk about the way in which we perceive time, well, that is anything but static, isn't it? The way we perceive time is always changing. Some times a minute is too long, sometimes it's way too short. But, regardless of how I perceive time, I never seem to have enough of it! I have resigned myself to the fact that this is life in the late '90s.
As I watched these children do their time on the step, the passage that naturally came to mind was, "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. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." (2 Peter 3:8-13)
What is it that defines for us whether we perceive time as moving too slow or too fast? Well, if we are trying to complete a project, or meet a deadline, time seems to move quickly, but if we are anticipating something, time moves slow. Thus, Christmas moves too slow for children and too fast for adults, right? Well, as we come to the end of the twentieth century there seems to be both a lot of anticipation and a lot of anxiety. What will the twenty- first century mean to us? Certainly thoughts of our Lord's return are becoming the topic of discussion amongst both Christians and non-Christians.
For me, personally, I waver. Some days, I'm like a child at Christmas and I say to the Lord, "Lord, life is just too hard, I want out, what's the holdup!" At other times, I am like the parent, "Lord, I'm not ready, there is so much to do, I pray that I can accomplish what You want me to accomplish before Your return." In the life of a Christian, we have both of these ropes pulling at our hearts. Some days,we groan waiting for the day of our redemption. Other days, we know we're not ready.
Thing is, regardless of where we are on any given day, the Lord will return when He's ready. He will come like a thief in the night and it will be unexpected. The message that we are left with is simple — be ready! We are to look forward to His coming and live godly lives. Notice that Peter says that by living holy and godly lives we will "speed" the Lord's return. In other words, the power, perfection and action of the Church plays a part in the Heavenly timetable. How does that work? Well, God is patient in wanting all to repent and give their lives to Jesus, so it seems that the more we shine forth Christ's reality and share the gospel with our world, the faster that day will come when all have heard and responded.
So, if time is ticking as slow as a minute on a Stair Master, perhaps we need to realize that we have things to do before the curtain of time falls and the window of eternity is opened. So little time; so much to do; shouldn't that be our motto as the days continue to speed towards our Lord's return?
Prayer
Lord God, we thank You for Your patience! We thank You that You are a God who loves us enough to wait so that more may enter into Your Kingdom. Lord, thank You that You waited long enough for us to enter in! Help us recognize that the time is short and the need is great. Help us understand that we must be more interested in sharing our faith than figuring out when that Day will come. Lord, empower us to live godly lives so that we may, indeed, speed Your coming! Amen!
