Word of the Week: Time

I don’t know about you, but I like to keep a tight schedule. My calendar is typically up to date. I don’t like to arrive anywhere late, instead usually showing up at least ten minutes early. I have a very strict sense of time…and it can be jarring when things don’t match up with it.

This week we have a team of nine people serving in Japan. One of the wonders of modern technology is they can send us frequent updates about where they are and what they’re doing. But sometimes it’s a bit jarring to read those updates, since Japan is thirteen hours ahead of our time zone. They’re eating dinner while I’m making breakfast. They’re waking up refreshed just as I’m going to bed exhausted. They’re on a totally different sense of time than I am.

Sometimes we expect God to match our time zone. He’s supposed to show up when we expect him to. He’s supposed to be on our schedule. And he certainly shouldn’t be late! But we often find that God has a different sense of time than we do and the results can be jarring.

God may not always act according to our sense of time, but he always arrives at the right time. Paul was aware of this in Galatians 4:4-5, writing: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law so we might receive adoption as sons.” If we might paraphrase the apostle, God showed up on time. He came and offered salvation right when we most needed it. God has a way of doing that. He might not show up on our schedule, but he’s always on time.