THE TIME HAS COME “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come’, he said”. Mk 1:14, 15 NIV After a long jail sentence, during which a prisoner will have counted the days, the long-awaited day of release brings a great sense of excitement, joy and even achievement. It is the same when there is any long delay, - an exile, a long study project, or the acquisition of a special possession such as a house. There had been centuries of preparation for the coming of Christ. The Israelites had endured centuries of oppression under foreign powers. The prophets had foretold and promised that God would act. Often the cry and the prayer had gone up, “How long, O Lord? How long?” But God had it all in hand! The centuries were his - as was eternity. The times of his acting and visiting were all part of his great scheme of salvation. Now the waiting was over, the time had come. There are two Greek words for time. One is “chronos” which means the passage of time - or clock time. The other is “kairos” which means a special or significant time, an occasion full of meaning. When Jesus came the chronos gave way to kairos. God’s hour had struck. “Jesus was the summit and the summary of human history”. For much of our lives we are dominated by chronos - the time that passes. Sometimes we wish it would go faster. As we get older we wish we could slow it down. But any day can become God’s big opportunity in our lives. He can respond to our prayers, call us to some significant service, change our direction - or call us home. PRAYER THOUGHT Lord, my times are in your hands.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 03:48:23 +0000