Time The Great Thief

He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ Luke 12:17-19

In the SYFY TV series “12 Monkeys” an Anti-Christ figure called “The Witness” wants to destroy time itself. Their idea is that time causes suffering and steals away loved ones so it needs to go.

In Psalm ninety it says that we are given–barring accident, injury, or disease–seventy years on this earth, and if we are in good health we have eighty years.

While recently exercising to control my blood sugar I was speaking with two people over eighty years old. One of them was talking about lately starting to feel themselves slowing down, feeling old. I jokingly reminded them that according to the Bible they are essentially past their expiration date, and that any time over eighty years old is a gift.

When you are young, eighty years old sounds like a long time away, when you are eighty years old you are shocked at how fast time passes by. Time indeed feels like a thief and every moment quickly passing seems stolen away.

We all have an expiration date. I hope if I live so long I am doing as well as some people I have met who are already in their eighties. But no matter how long each of us may live, we should continually take stock of what we are doing, and how we live our lives. Life is short. Time does feel like a thief as we look back over our lives. But God has given us every day to live to our fullest. Let’s make the most of our time.

Prayer: Dear Lord, time is precious, help us to make the most of every opportunity, and every day You give us. Amen.