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Ephesians 5:15-17
Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise
but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
“Excuse me, do you have the time?”
It’s a question we ask in one way or another, or have asked of us, multiple times each week: “What time is it?”
And when we ask this question we are almost
always referring to the time of day: say, 9:15 am or 2:30 pm. This is simple,
straightforward chronological time.
But there is another way of talking about time.
A woman who is nine months pregnant says to her husband, “It’s time.” This is a
whole different kind of time. This is the kind of time that changes your life
forever and has very little to do with chronological time. At times like the
birth of a child, chronological time seems to cease to exist – or at least
cease to be important.
Interestingly, the New Testament writers used
two main words for time. One was the Greek word, chronos, from which we get our English word, chronological. This word, as you might expect, referred to the kind
of time that is measurable and quantifiable. Chronos is clock time, or calendar time. Chronos is the kind of time referred to in the title, "10 Minutes
with God"
The second word was kairos. This Greek word referred more to the meaning and
significance of an event happening in chronos
time. Kairos communicates a sense of
a special moment of opportunity. Kairos refers to what happens when you read or
listen to "10 Minutes with God" and actually meet God!
Paul writes:
Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise
but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
The word “opportunity” that Paul uses in the
middle of this passage, as in, “…making the most of every opportunity…” is actually the Greek word kairos. Paul is saying that wise people will understand that life
is not lived primarily in chronological time (chronos) but in the opportunities, the moments, the eternally
significant relational or spiritual events that happen within chronological
time. Life happens in kairos, for kairos is where we see and live out the
will of God for our lives!
For example: a family sitting down to dinner
might do so at 6:45 pm – chronos
time. Their focus on any given night might be finishing dinner before “Dancing
with the Stars” or the Bulls game comes on at 7:00 pm – also chronos time. Or their focus might be
the conversation that could take place around the table that just might provide
an opportunity for some significant connection or encouragement to take place, which is what the Apostle Paul means by “making the most of every opportunity”
– which is kairos.
It strikes me that it is very easy to live
almost completely in chronos time,
while it is much more difficult to be aware of kairos opportunities or moments. It’s easy to glance at a watch or
a cell phone and know what time it is. It’s easy to look at a clock and know
that I have to leave in five minutes to make it to a meeting that is on my
calendar. It is much more difficult to look at my son’s face or body language
and discern what time it is in terms of kairos!
What is he feeling? What is he thinking? Should I ask? How should I ask? Does
he need encouraging words from me? Does he need an affirming touch from me? And
how much time will that take? Will it make me late for my meeting?
How many of these kairos moments do we rush by each day of our lives? How often does
the urgency of our chronos-time
obsessed culture prevent us from seeing, feeling, and responding to the kairos of God’s activity in the world?
Ask God to make you more and more aware of his kairos moments in your life, and to
help you make the most of those opportunities!
Pastor Brian Coffey
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