Reflections on Time
As we enter the New Year, we change our calendars. We try to remember to write down the updated year. Maybe some of us become more reflective and think about time: What is time? How do we gauge time? Why do we start the new year when we do?
Perception of Time
Have you ever said something like the following? I don’t have time to visit now, maybe later. There aren’t enough hours in the day to get my work done. Time goes so fast when you’re having fun … Do I need to go home already? It took forever for the doctor to see me. I wish the clock would go faster so I can get out of here.
Time seems to move slowly at times. When you’re a five-year-old getting close to your sixth birthday, time goes soooo slow. If you’re seventy-five years old, the next birthday pops up very quickly. The clock always seems to go faster when you’re having fun; and slower when you’re not.
Time consciousness varies among cultures. In our Western world, many of us might feel disoriented without knowing the time. We often stick to schedules, working hard to meet deadlines and relying on the clock to guide our day. In other cultures, people may focus more on enjoying the moment, especially during social interactions, with fewer strict deadlines.
Creation of Time
Time is part of God’s creative work. In Genesis 1 God established the cycle of day and night. (See also Psalm 104:19-24.) In fact, because of the insight given to Albert Einstein, we now know that time is entwined in the physical universe which God created. Time is a function of the mass and energy and motion. In fact, GPS satellites must adjust the timing of their signals to us because their location and speed relative to us distorts time.
As creatures we are time-bound. Our circadian rhythm causes us to get jet-lag when travelling long distances. We have cycles in life, often tuned to the cycles in creation: months, years, etc. But interestingly, as image-bearers of God, we also have a sense of the eternal. God “has also set eternity in the human heart.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) We are also created, somehow, to transcend time.
God and Time
So how does God relate to time? Since time is part of the created order, God is above time and not bound by time. Psalm 90:2,4 – “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God … A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by.” Yet God works within time, even joining us in Jesus Christ.
The Bible also portrays God creating time as beautiful. “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31) And as he guides human history, God “changes times and seasons” (Daniel 2:21). In Ecclesiastes the timely routines of life are seen as a gift from God. “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
Gift of Time
This means that time is a beautiful gift to us as humans, something to cherish time and delight in. And part of God’s gift of time is the Sabbath: time to rest, to enjoy life, to be free of drudgery, to enjoy God and others.
We also are stewards of time. How we use our time depicts what is important to us. It is a mistake to say we don’t have time for something. We all have the same amount of time as anyone else: twenty-four hours in the day, sixty minutes in each hour. What we mean by this phrase is: We have other things to do that are more important. The use of time is an ongoing gauge of what – and who – is of high value in our lives. Whatever is more precious, we dedicate our time to it.
May you all enjoy the time God has blessed you with.
John Gorter
Interim Pastor
