Just Five More Minutes

"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day, nor the hour."

Matthew 25:13

Time...

How many times have we hit the snooze button in the early morning hours to "delay" the beginning of our day.

"Just five more minutes," we mumble as we fumble around for that magic button. Or, how about the "I'll be ready in five more minutes" phrase someone abruptly shouts to the person who is waiting on them to get ready to leave the house. No matter how much time we are given, we always seem to need more of it or are trying to stretch it out to the max.

We are all given the same amount of time in our days - 24 hours, that's it. Sixty minutes in an hour, sixty seconds in a minute, etc. We're all given seven days in a week. We're all given the same amount of days in a month, and months in a year. Granted, we are not all guaranteed to live out all these moments, because God knows when one's time is up, but they are what we know as "time" in our world today.

Today, I was reading about Noah and how it was just an ordinary day when he and his family entered the ark. He had finished everything God asked him to do and now he entered the ark to wait. I'm sure when the raindrops began to fall, the waters came upon the earth, and the people began to realize the truth of Noah's words, they were probably wishing for five more minutes.

Then, I thought about all the other stories in the Bible where people ran out of time. Well, they actually didn't run out of time. The truth is, they didn't make good use of the time they were given. The fault wasn't on "time's" watch, rather it was on the people who wouldn't take heed to the reality of time. It's often said, we don't manage time, time manages us. If we don't get it finished or arrive in time...time still continues ticking along - we cannot stop it.

It has been said that it probably wasn't a cloudy day when Noah entered the ark; the sun might have been shining brightly for all we know. I'm sure Eve didn't get up on the morning her and Adam's lives were changed forever having any idea that she would be tempted by the serpent. What about Cain and Abel? It was probably a normal day when they went to offer their sacrifices unto the Lord. I thought about the twelve apostles. They were probably going about an ordinary day when Jesus crossed their path and invited them to follow Him.

Ordinary days with time just ticking away.

Time.

"Just a second," I hear someone reply when called to another room.

"I'll be right there," the Dad replies to his impatiently waiting child.

"I need a few more days," the tenant asks for when the rent is due.

"I wish I had more time," the elder says to the doctor as he lies on his death bed.

Indeed, some instances of time aren't quite as urgent as others, but the reality is often we don't have "plenty of time" left. And since time just keeps ticking and our days seem quite ordinary, we often don't think about time running out. I'm reminded of the story of the ten virgins, the five foolish ran out of oil in their lamps - and time. What about the people knocking on the outside of the ark as it floated away, they ran out of time as well.

Proverbs 27:1 says, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring." How true this is, some of us know this very well first hand. We woke up one day and our lives were changed forever!

Romans 13:11 says, "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed." One of these days will be our last - our last hour, minute and second will run out. We're none exempt!

The Bible says it will be a normal day when the Lord comes back for his Bride. We will know the season but not the exact time. If we knew, we would certainly be ready...or would we?

"Just five more minutes!"

I know this post is quite different from what I usually write, but today my heart is troubled by those who seem to be going about life acting as if the eternal clock isn't ticking. People wrapped up in temporal things and completely putting important, eternal stuff on the back burner. It's as if I can hear them saying, "Wait a minute, God. I've got to take care of this first." They probably do think they're get around to it, but good intentions don't get us where we need to be. What could be more important than being sure our proverbial, spiritual lamps are full?

Whether we go by grave or by the rapture, our time on this earth is quickly coming to an end. The midnight hour is upon us, my friend. There are signs everywhere. This world is waxing worse and worse with sin and wickedness. We absolutely cannot be blind to this, it's so obvious! My question today is simple but powerful, are you hitting the snooze button of life and acting like it doesn't matter? Oh, please stop it if so!

God open our eyes to see, to believe, to turn our lives around, to realize it's going to be another ordinary day when our time is up. Help us to be watching, waiting and listening. Help us to be doing things that count for eternity. Help us to draw closer to you instead of to this lost, corrupt world. Help us to get "in the ark" now and not wait until the time is expired!

I know this is heavy writing today, but my heart is burdened. I just need to sound the alarm and hope somebody will go ahead and wake up from their slumber. Run toward the Savior! He's waiting with open arms, and so is the church. Now is the time.

It’s okay if you hit the snooze button in the morning when you need five more minutes of sleep, just not spiritually. I hope you’ll remember this little post every time you hit it though, and that it will serve as a reminder for the most important event in the world.