The Clock

A couple of months ago I preached my best sermon yet at First United Methodist. I say this rather humbly. The reason why it was my best was because it was my shortest. As a mentor of mine once told me, “Andy, there is no so thing as a bad short sermon.”

The reason this sermon was shorter than usual was because my clock was wrong. I have a clock I keep on the front row to help me know what time it is and to keep track of how the worship service is running. Well, that one Sunday, some of young men (and you know who you are!) moved my clock ahead 10 minutes. So, instead of getting out at our normal time, we got out 10 minutes early. When I found out, it made sense why I go so many compliments on my sermon that day!

I got a good laugh out of this, but it also got me thinking about time. Sometimes we want time to move a lot faster than it is. When we are in the doctor’s office, the clock moves so slowly. When we are waiting to hear results from a test, it moves so slowly. When we are waiting to get out of school, it moves so slowly.

Sometimes, it moves too fast. You turn around and your kids are grown. You look up and wonder where the years went. You suddenly realize that life is moving and moving fast.

So, we have to make the best of our time. Today is gift. Today is day that unlike any before it or to come. It is precious in its own right. It is something to be lived in, cherished, and taken advantage of.

We can’t do anything about the past. It is done. We can’t control the future. There is nothing we can do about it. But, today, this moment, it is ours! It is given to us by God for a purpose and for a reason.

But, let’s be careful, for if we don’t, we’ll look up and it will be over. It will be like my missing 10 minutes that morning. We look around saying, what happened? Where did the time go?

While there is no such thing as a bad short sermon, lives are not like that. Let’s not live short lives. Let’s not waste time. Let’s not forget just how important this moment is. Let’s live. Let’s live fully and deeply in the moment God has given us. Let’s live in this day, this time that the Lord has given.