Time is important for a whole lot of different reasons. Some would say that it is not and that nothing we do matters because Jesus is coming back “soon and very soon.” So what if He is? Would this change the statement of time being important? I don’t think so. So if time is important, how come?
I believe time to be important because it is a gift from God. He has given everyone on this earth a journey. This journey consists time. Some get a lot of time and others not so much. Even those who would get a whole lifetime of time the Bible says that their life is like a vapor (James 4:14). So if it is like a vapor how should we approach this life?
Some may want to waste this life because it is too short. Since it is so short they want to waste their life on themselves. We only have one life to live, right? I actually agree with that. Though we may die physically our life moves on into eternity. I do not agree with the part that we should waste it though.
It is easy to see how some would waste this life on themselves. People will always waste it on themselves when they are not sure what the point of this life is. But time is important when one considers the mission. What is the mission?
The mission is to go. But we do not go without a purpose. We go with the purpose of making disciples. Disciples of whom? Of Jesus. Jesus is the Lord and Savior of the earth, despite popular opinion. We baptize those who have taken on the apprenticeship program of Him. Continuing to teach everything He taught His original audience.
What does it look like to be His apprentice?
We are to be salt and light. Salt adds flavor to what it is added. Have we added flavor to somebody else’s life? How do we add flavor? Take your everyday occurrences. Ask yourself how you can make someone else’s life better. Have you made someone’s life better today? Usually if we pay attention to the other person’s love language then we will know how to bless them. If a person encourages you a lot then this may mean they are actually the ones needing the encouragement. Take the time to learn somebody’s love language.
Do not murder. Oh this one seems pretty simple for most, right? Well Jesus raised the bar of this expectation. He says we are not to even be angry with our brother. Why? I think we usually get angry at people for some of the dumbest reasons. Have you gotten mad at somebody when they pulled in front of you in traffic? Have you taken the time to think of the people who have gotten mad at you for pulling in front of them?
The reason we should not get mad is because of at least three reasons. First is that most of the time we are just as guilty of making stupid mistakes. Second is because anger is always easier than love and forgiveness. We don’t grow into what God created us to be when we choose anger. The last reason is because we should forgive because God has forgiven us. God is the only one who has the right not to forgive because He has caused no offense, but still He chooses to forgive those who are under Jesus. Actually Matthew 6:15 says, “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Being non-judgmental. We apprentices get accused of being judgmental all the time. Well there are quite a few followers of Christ who think for some reason they have been appointed by God to judge others. The only time we are to do something that looks like judgment is when a brother or sister in Christ is living a contradictory life. Say for example I profess to be a follower of Jesus but at the same time I love to get high on drugs and sleep with prostitutes. I need to ask myself if this is a lifestyle that God originally designed for me to live. It is clearly not. Jesus didn’t get high on the local drugs of Israel and he didn’t hate prostitutes by paying for their services. Brothers and sisters in Christ are supposed to walk this road together in Christ’s Ekklesia. If you have a family member who is taking drugs and sleeping with hookers would you not be concerned? Would you be judgmental to approach him about his choices? He might think so, but your motivation is love for him. You don’t want to see him get hurt. This is the same thing that should be happening in the body of Christ. If one of our brothers or sisters in Christ are making hurtful choices we are to come along side them and help them see the error of their way (sorry to sound so churchy).
Now to the judgment part. God did not call us to hold up signs at funerals that say God hates Fags. God loves those who are homosexual believe it or not. Is their lifestyle choices not part of God’s original design? No it isn’t, but so is any lifestyle choice you make outside of becoming more like Jesus. Hate, lying, murder, stealing, lusting (even good o’l heterosexual lusting), wanting needlessly, hoarding. Have you ever done even one of these for a second? Of course we have. I have lied plenty of times… the other sins on the list are none of your business or I am just too ashamed to admit my unJesus like nature. We are supposed to love people and lead them to Jesus. There is no perquisite for someone to come to Jesus for help, accept the desire to be saved by Him. We do not give up our lifestyle choices before coming to Him. We come to Him so He can help us with our poor choices, oh and that need to be restored to God thing.
These are just a few characteristics of His apprentices. Time is important. We need to make each day count for Jesus. We have a mission. This life is not just about us. How can we spread His kingdom here on earth. How can we influence others to become His apprentices? How can we stop looking to the sky for His return? Oh I believe that He is coming back but I do not see the point in wasting our time guessing about when. He will come back when He comes back. Live each moment of your life like now is the moment of His return. What do you want Him to find you doing? Is it wasting time looking to the sky or would be that He finds you spreading His kingdom and bringing others along for the ride? May He find us working our tails off! Grace and peace to you.
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