Our time belongs to God. Every moment is His, and we are under the most solemn obligation to improve it to His glory. Of no talent He has given will He require a more strict account than our time. As His sons and daughters we have entered into covenant with Him. Through Christ, God has purchased our will, our affections, our mind, our soul, our all. We have given our life to His service; and that service is two-fold. Firstly, our time is to be devoted to the development of our understanding of divine truths, so that we may be fitted to labour now in the gaining of others for Christ. We must become men and women with a mission. Secondly, our time is to be devoted to the development of a character that will be fitted for the great work of the millennium. What we shall be then will be a reflection, in God’s mercy, of what we are now in character and true service.
This is a full time occupation. Apart from the time which of necessity is to be spent in the pursuit of our daily bread and the sustaining of our physical and mental powers, the rest belongs to God. Life is too short to be trifled away. We have but a few years of probation, “an inch or two of time”, in which to prepare for eternity. We have certainly no time to waste. With the masses of men and women still in darkness, waiting for the light of the gospel to remove the veil that is cast over their eyes, with our own characters still largely not transformed, we have no time to devote to selfish pleasure or worldly indulgence. Now is our day of opportunity—now we prepare for eternity!
We are admonished to “redeem the time”, but time wasted in the past is gone for ever and cannot be recovered; we can call back not one moment. The only way in which we can redeem our time is by making the most of that which remains, by being co-workers with Christ in the great plan of redemption. In this regard we must work today, for tomorrow may not be ours. Now is our time to labour for the salvation of men, and in so labouring we will develop our own characters as well. It is not sufficient to be “hearers of the Word” only; it is not sufficient to be content with regular attendance at meetings; to give our money for the work of Christ—all of which are good and needful. But these can never take the place of personal active service, they can never take the place of lives transformed.
The great need of our day, if the true gospel is to penetrate isolated areas, is for more personnel in the field; men and women with dedicated lives to give of their time and energy, as well as their money, in actively serving in the vineyard of Christ. In country areas alone there are men and women who have received the full Bible Correspondence Course, who need to be personally contacted ere their interest wanes. There are those also who have indicated a desire to learn the truth of God’s Word, who need regular visitation; and there are still vast fields which are as yet virtually untouched by the gospel. This need can only be met by Christ’s true servants who are willing to give of their time—now—today!
This is a personal responsibility. No one else can make up the time we neglect to give to Christ. He has “delivered unto us His goods”, “to every man according to his several ability”. The “us” and the “every man” are you and I, as individuals. He has placed us “in the body as it hath pleased him”, and we are to serve in the capacity with which we have been endowed.
But how often do we excuse ourselves with the remark, “I haven’t the time”, and yet we have given our time to Him. We are His bond-servants. We are not our own, we are His slaves. In becoming such we surrender ourselves to Him, with all that we are and have. We may not have much, as far as this world’s goods are concerned, but our Master has committed unto us “His goods”, something to be put to use for Him. The question that most concerns us is not, “How much have I received?” but, “What am I doing with that which I have?” The right use of these “goods” is the first duty we owe to Christ, and those of us who are not growing daily in capacity and usefulness are not fulfilling this purpose of life.
“After a long time the lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them.” This will be our appointment with destiny. The time we spend now in the service of our Lord will determine where we will spend eternity. Of those who have given of their time in the using of their Lord’s “goods”, He will declare, “Well done thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many.” It is the faithfulness, the loyalty to Christ, the loving service, that in the end wins the divine approval.
Alternatively, to the servant who did not use his lord’s “goods”, but buried it in the earth, Christ will declare, “Depart from me, thou wicked and slothful servant”. These are they who have just drifted along, carrying no responsibility, pleasing themselves. True they claim to be Christ’s servants, but they are placed by the judge of all the earth with those who do evil. They receive the same condemnation, “Cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth”.
Time is ours today—eternity will be ours tomorrow! “For whosoever seeketh to save his life will lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s the same shall save it. . .
“For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”
Reflections on the Potter and the Clay