Are you making good use of the time you have?

Are you making good use of the time you have?

Luke 12:40

February 5, 2022

I recently saw a commercial playing on television that fits well with this devotion. A young girl is lying on the sofa, wearing a robe, wearing poufy slippers, and her hair is a mess. She’s watching a rom-com, romantic comedy. The commercial is an ad for a doorbell company that allows you to see who’s at your door on your television screen. The doorbell rings, and there on the TV screen is a live feed of the young man the girl on the sofa has a date with that night. She panics and gets on her hands and knees, crawling to her room to get ready as she yells to her parents to answer the door and stall.  She’s been lying around all day, wasting time.

I see people spending a lot of time on Tic Toc and other social media sights. Searching for Poke man all over town. And others spending hour upon hour playing video games (I got bored with video games shortly after I mastered Pacman. 😊

Is it okay to lay around and watch rom-coms? Of course, it is. How about Tic Toc, video games? There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, as long it doesn’t become an obsession.

(As a lover of Hallmark movies, I’m the King of Rom-com’s)

The passage above from Luke 12:40 is prefaced with several parables by Jesus. Basically, He’s saying we must be ready for His return.

Even in 1 Thessalonians 5:2, the apostle Paul says:

“For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”

So, when Jesus comes, it will be like a thief in the night; what does that mean?

And Jesus said, “The Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect Him.”

How can we be ready for Christ’s coming when we don’t know when He’s coming?

If we have a dinner party and ask people to arrive at 4 p.m., we know they will come somewhere around that time. Likewise, suppose your child’s school tells you to be in the auditorium for graduation exercises no later than 1 p.m. In that case, the school is reasonably confident that you’ll be there at the prescribed time.

So, how do we prepare for someone who’s coming when they give us no time frame to follow?

The simple answer is, always be about the Father’s business.

The Lord has blessed each of us with a Spiritual Gift. For some, it is teaching; for others, preaching; for others, it’s showing compassion towards others; and for others, it is serving in various ways. And,  for some, like me, it’s writing.

Sometimes I feel like I’m wasting time and not getting others ready for Christ’s second coming. God has given me a gift, or at least I’ve been told He has 😊. That is the gift of communicating His word through writing for others to read, feel, and prayerfully getting closer to Jesus through my telling of the Gospel story.

But there are times I don’t. I don’t use the time I have been given to utilize my gift and write. I don’t know why. Perhaps I get lazy, Or I’m just tired and overwhelmed by my circumstances. And then suddenly, I hear an inner voice say, “Get back to it, break times over.” And, here I am writing this devotion after not writing anything for about 45 days when I finished the daily advent devotions I published on my website.

Here’s the point!

How about you? What are you wasting your time on when you could be doing God’s work? Are you spreading His grace and forgiveness by sharing the Gospel of  Jesus?

How can you stop wasting time and be about God’s work? How can you better serve others? What will it take to get you on track? Take some time right now and have a conversation with God. Ask Him questions like, “Lord, how can I do a better job of accomplishing the work your Son Jesus has asked me to do”?

What did Jesus ask you to do? Okay, a quick reminder, Matthew 28:19-20.”

Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

That is the work God has given us to do. If you’re not doing it, then you’re wasting time, and you’re not ready.

Tic, toc, tic toc. The clock is ticking.

Are you ready for Jesus?

Jesus. Our job is to always be ready for your arrival. When are you coming? We don’t know. Help us do a better job of being about your work by spreading the Gospel and being a servant to all. Amen.