Wristwatches, time management, and eternity
I married a man who tells time the way a compass points north. He knows exactly where he needs to be and when he needs to be there. I unfortunately don’t have the same innate sense of urgency. If we need to leave in ten minutes, I’ll pull out the vacuum cleaner. If I start a cleaning project now, I reason, I’ll be five minutes ahead when we get home. Needless to say, that usually also means we’ll arrive fifteen minutes late.
Considering our differences, I’m sure my husband was delighted when a wristwatch was at the top of my Christmas list this past December. I didn’t want a fancy smartwatch of the modern era; rather, I requested a straightforward watch of ancient times. Several months after receiving my watch, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. An analog watch is only useful when you look at it. This isn’t earth-shattering news, but it revealed an uncomfortable habit I’ve developed of purposefully not looking at the time. By ignoring the clock, I pretend that I can temporarily pause the incessant march from present to past. If I don’t acknowledge the time, then perhaps it doesn’t exist. This is no longer a simple time-management problem, but an avoidance of responsibility.
Obviously, only God can pause the sun’s orbit or cause the day to reverse (Joshua 10:12–13; Isaiah 38:8). I first considered God’s control of time while reading Augustine’s Confessions several years ago. He contemplated ad nauseam the reality that God exists outside of time. Genesis 1:1 documents both the start and the Source of time with these simple, familiar words, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” How fascinating that time, which is incredibly restrictive for humanity, shares a beginning point like we do. Time exists in the past, present, and future, yet God is infinite. And that is the God I serve with my finite time. He has given me good works to complete and directs me to do everything heartily as to him (Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 3:23).
Instead of trying to outmaneuver reality, I’m learning what obedience means within my scope of work and rest. I find perspective through advice given to the great abolitionist politician William Wilberforce. John C. Colquhoun says this advice was given to Wilberforce by pastor and hymn writer John Newton: “Stay at his post, and neither give up work, nor throw away wealth; wait and watch occasions, sure that [God], who put him at his post, would find him work to do” (as quoted in Fierce Convictions by Karen Swallow Prior). Christ, who not only created time, but entered it to save me, surely knows my desire to “make the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:16) and my struggles to do so faithfully. I can trust that as I take these little steps forward, he will continue to direct my path (Proverbs 3:5–6; 16:9).
I probably won’t master time on this side of eternity, but I am confident that God always completes what he sets out to do. None of God’s promises fail. One day, I will praise him in perfect satisfaction because the good work he started in me will be complete (Philippians 1:6; Hebrews 10:23).
Photo credit: Jaelynn Castillo on Unsplash
Audio is generated with AI voice technology.
