Time Well Spent

The heritage we have is rich and full. Look around you, young people,
and take note of the hoary-headed ones whose experience in the Lord is
a beacon for us to follow. Our first generation of Nazarenes is
almost gone and some of our second and third generation Nazarenes are
also preceding us to glory.
 
Our elders have a habit of leaving holes in our lives when they obey
the call to come home.  They also leave us their places of
responsibility to carry on the Truth to the generation that follows
us.  We must take our place as "living stones" (1 Peter 2:5), standing
on the foundation that is laid for us by our forerunners.
 
Peter saw that life was short and he quoted Isaiah saying "All men are
like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the
grass withers and the flowers fall..." (1 Peter 1:24 NIV) In one of my
dad's sermons, he said, "Is Jesus coming soon?  I don't know what
'soon' is.  When I was 20, I thought Jesus would come before I was
ordained.  Then I got busy preaching and working and raising sons. It
wasn't very long ago that I began my ministry - and more than 40 years
have gone by!  I have less time now to live than I have lived!  I have
less time to serve than I have served!  I shall see Jesus soon, one
way or another! ... If Jesus doesn't come in your lifetime, it will be
still a very, very short time until you are in His Presence."
 
It seems that the revelation that time is limited confronts us
suddenly. Many of us have already mourned the loss of loved ones.  All
of us will face it someday. Barring accident or illness, the old
precede the young, and then the young get old. But the Word encourages
us: "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall
asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." (1
Thess. 4:13)
 
We will grieve their passing but differently than the world because we
have the hope of seeing them again; and it will be sooner than we
think.  Those who have gone before us may turn around in heaven to
ask, "Are you here so soon?"  We may be surprised at how soon it will
be, too!
 
Time is the only real currency we have.  Like the kings of Israel, all
of our earthly efforts boil down to a single evalutation as to whether
or not we "did right in the eyes of the Lord."  Spend your time on
things of eternal value such as love, generosity, mercy, and
forgiveness.  Let us seek the fellowship of our elders who can help to
guide us as we move along the same time line towards eternity.  The
Word of God guarantees that it will be time well spent.