Time

I heard Andrew Young reflecting on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this morning. Of all the things he said...one thing stood out to me. Young said, "You have to remember...as it turns out...Dr. King had a very short time to accomplish a great deal."

He was 39 when he died.

I couldn't help but draw a parallel to the life of Jesus. His public ministry only spanned a brief 3 years or so. According to scholars, He too was in his 30's when he was killed.

I was just thinking about time...

OK...here's the thing. We all know life is busy. It seems like there are just not enough hours in the day to do all the things we want...and need...to do. In fact, if you are like me...you are sitting there right now thinking about all the things you need to get done this week. I'm wondering how I'm going to squeeze it all in.

But the fact is, each one of us...no matter who we are or what we do or how much we have on our plate...every one of us has the exact same gift of just 24 hours each day. That's 24 hours...1,440 minutes...86,400 seconds. Nothing can change that. We can't buy more time...at any price...and once that second, or minute, or hour is gone...it's gone forever. We can't get it back.

When you take out the time dedicated to eating and sleeping and other necessities...well...there isn't much time left. It is a precious gift. The question becomes...how do we go about best using the limited time we have?

Perhaps one approach might be to stop "spending" our time and start "investing" our time. Just think of all the things that could be done in 24 hours...all the lives that could be touched...all the significant changes that could be made in your life and the lives of those around you. The fact is...we can actually make a difference in this world in just 24 hours...

...or, not.

Dr. Martin Luther King lived just over 39 years. Today...because of the way he chose to invest his time...there are thousands of schools that Dr. King would not have been allowed to walk in to when he was a boy...that are closed in honor of him.

Jesus...the Alpha and Omega of all time had a public ministry of just 3 years. With it...He changed the course of human history.

Choose wisely how you will invest your time. Do good. Change the world.

"Time's 'a wastin'."

Did you enjoy this post or know of someone who might? Click the "share" button below to send via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and a host of other options.

Photo by Ian Britton at FreeFoto.com