In 1969 Chicago sang, "Does anybody really know what time it is?" The chorus has great meaning for those who believe the Bible speaks about the future.
"Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care? If so I can't imagine why. We've all got time enough to cry."
What time is it? Not meaning "look at your watch" but God's time. I have a two-fold understanding of this. First, each one of us have a finite amount of time on Earth. Even with advances in medicine the average age of death is 78 years with under one percent of people living beyond 100. Knowing time is finite should cause us to consider how we live and our legacy.
Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on Earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Jesus said, live knowing that there are results in eternity. Treasures in heaven is simply living in obedience to God by living rightly before people. That speaks of the husband who lays down his life for his family. That speaks of the woman who lives right by the virtues that show her as a woman of faith.
What time is it in your life? The Bible says today is the day, and now is the time to examine your life and look at where your treasure is. If your legacy is greed and selfishness, then your treasure is on Earth for materialism, and power are gone when you die.
But if your legacy is one of faith, hope and love, then that's sending your treasure ahead, because those things last forever. What time is it for you?
Still there's another time - the time of the end. The Bible teaches there is a finite amount of time for Earth. That one day the Lord will return in power to judge the living and the dead. What time is it on God's prophetic time clock? There are a lot of voices today saying "the end is near" but Jesus said nobody knows when it will be. The Apostle Peter gave us valuable information as to what to do with the fact that God has a clock.
2 Peter 3:10-12, "The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear. The Earth and everything in it will be laid bare."
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God.
Peter goes on to say by faith in Christ, you are looking forward to eternity "the home of righteousness."
What time is it? For each of us, there is a time when we face mortality and death comes. Now is the time to recognize what God desires for all people: faith in the Savior. What time is it for this world? I don't know, but it's closer today then when Peter wrote those words. Check your watch, then look to how God would have you live.
Pastor Rich Lammay of High Sierra Fellowship is a member of the Carson Valley Ministers' Association.
