Time, Time

Time, Time

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6)

Advent and Lent are both periods of waiting. In Advent, we wait for the birth of Christ and in Lent we wait for the passion, death and most resurrection of the Lord. Christian people are a waiting people. We spend time waiting. The concept of time is very important in salvation history.

There are two kinds of time in the economy of salvation: chronos and kairos.

Chronos deals with the human measurement of time: seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years. Chronos time involves an element of predictability. We measure and calculate this time with accuracy.

The economy of salvation introduces a new understanding of time. Kairos time. This is God’s concept of time, where to wait is to stop. The bible describes this time as: the hour, the appointed time, the right time, the fixed time, the preordained time.

“Stay awake, you do not know when the time will come.” This is God’s time.