Time

Time

“You do not know when the appointed time will come.” (Mark 13: 33)

This means that we must learn to wait. We must wait and be prepared like the servant waiting for the return of his master. The appointed time may come suddenly like a thief in the night. Since we know that the thief is coming but do not know the time of his arrival, we must keep awake and be alert all night. Eternal vigilance is the price of success. Life can be described as a period of waiting for things to happen. A woman waits for her child to be born. Then she waits for him to be weaned. She waits for him to go to school and waits for the time when he finishes school.

The bible teaches us that there are two ways of looking at time: time of grace called kairos and measurable time called chronos. Waiting can also be of two types:

Waiting that is connected with kairos, for example: “Watch and pray for you do not know the time.” In this type of waiting, there is nothing you can do to speed up matters. You depend on your faith. In this type of waiting, Isaiah says that “Faith that is firm is also patient.” You know by faith that the event will happen even if you do not know the time or the precise outcome.

The second type of waiting, associated with chronos is more predictable and measurable. The term for pregnancy is normally nine months.

“You do not know when the appointed time will come.” (Mark 13: 33) The appointed time is the time of grace, kairos time. We prepare for it through faith and prayer.