All of us must come to terms with the realities of time and eternity. Until we do, we will live without lasting meaning and purpose. This was borne out in the experience of Scottish minister Thomas Chalmers. As a boy of 12, he enrolled in college, and at 15 he began studies in divinity school. Licensed to preach at 19, he became a minister in the town of Kilmany, Scotland. But he had not been truly saved. His overwhelming love was mathematics, so he preached on Sunday and taught math during the week. Of his use of time, he wrote, “After the discharge of his parish duties, a minister may enjoy 5 days of uninterrupted leisure for the prosecution of any science in which his taste may dispose him to engage.“
Several years later, Chalmers was genuinely converted and his attitude toward the ministry changed completely. To his dismay, the statement he had made earlier about a minister’s duties was read during a debate in the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Stunned and hurt, Chalmers rose to say, “Yes, sir. I had penned it, strangely blinded that I was! But in those days, sir. I had forgotten two magnitudes – I thought not of the littleness of Time, and recklessly thought not of the greatness of Eternity!”
The writer of Psalm 90 put things into the proper perspective in verses 9 and 10. He declared that “we finish our years like a sigh.” In the light of eternity, the average lifespan of 70 years is but a brief moment. We must therefore use time to build for eternity. – Paul R. Van Gorder
Days, months, and years must have an end,
Eternity has none;
It will always be as long to spend
As when it first begun. – Chapman
Time is but the gateway to eternity.
- June 29, 1985, Our Daily Bread
For You 