Where does time go when we lose it? More and more, I see time as the currency of our lives. Among other things, sin wastes time. When wasted, time seems irretrievable. Is it?
Paul and his companions had lost time as the winds blew against them and slowed their journey to Rome. Now the trip to Rome appeared to be dangerous, because it was after the Day of Atonement (this year it fell on October 11-12). Just as we expect the possibility of tropical storms to develop at certain times of the year, so the potential for storms was greater in Greece and Italy after Yom Kippur. Paul knew this and warned the centurion.
Years ago, I came upon this poem by Dr. Benjamin Mays:
I have only just a minute,
Only sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, can’t refuse it.
Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it.
But it’s up to me
to use it.
I must suffer if I lose it.
Give account if I abuse it.
Just a tiny little minute,
but eternity is in it.
Later, in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul used an expression that gives us hope: “Redeeming the time, for the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16), The prophet Joel promised that God could restore the years the locusts had stolen (Joel 2:25). Isn’t that good news? Our wasted time is not finally lost in the economy of our timeless, tireless God. May God help us today to use our time well. It is precious. So let us make the most of it, for the sake of God’s Kingdom.
