Kronos or Kairos

Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days O Lord, that we may apply our hearts with wisdom”

This past weekend, I observed the two year passing of my amazing grandmother. They say time heals all wounds, but I think that expression can be misleading. While a wound may heal, there is still a scar…a reminder of the wound. I believe grief is the same way. The frequency of the pain may lessen, but the sting is still the same pain…sometimes the pain deepens. Fortunately my memories of my grandmother are filled with time spent. Memories of laughter, love, and togetherness. The scar of grief doesn’t have to be a negative thing. In fact, it’s the wonderful memories that we grieve. The only thing I wanted out of my relationship with my grandmother….is more time. While I spent a great deal of time with her, now that she is gone, it still does not feel like enough. There is so much more that I want to learn from her…so many more stories that haven’t been told…or stories that needed to be retold.

This is often the narrative of life: I wish I just had more time. More time with a person….more time to finish a job…or simply more time in the day. It’s funny how we make demands on something that just simply isn’t guaranteed. Sure there is the standard 60 seconds in a minute…60 minutes in an hour…24 hours in a day, but we may not be guaranteed to cash in on all of those seconds…minutes…hours.

Suppose you have 86,400 pennies deposited in your bank account every day ($864 total). The only catch is that you have to spend it all before the day ends or you will lose whatever you haven’t used. How would you spend that money? You’d probably think long and hard about how to spend it…perhaps make lists...spreadsheets… Yes, you’d think long and hard, and likely be so excited about all of the possibilities and opportunities. Now translate pennies to seconds. Unfortunately, we have taken for granted…or become desensitized to… the fragility of life.

In my Habitude book by Tim Elmore, he illustrates the following: In ancient Greece, there were statues everywhere. One man who lived in Athens centuries ago wrote there were more statues than people at one point. If you were to walk into Athens, you were sure to see on statue in particular. It was a statue called “Opportunity.” It was a vivid illustration of how opportunity works in our lives. It was a statue of a person who had long, following hair in front of its face—but was completely bald in the back. Weird…but revealing. To put it simply, you could grab it when it was coming toward you, but you could never get hold of it once it had passed.

Leave it to the Greeks to use a reverse mullet to teach us a major life lesson. Elmore goes on: That’s how opportunity works. Time is fleeting. You never get it back once it is gone. Someone said to me recently: “Time is more valuable than money. You can always get more money, but you can’t get more time”

Everyone gets the same amount of time each day…and everyone uses it differently. Some people recognize this and have learned to manage their time wisely and make the best of it. In the New Testament, I LOVE that time is described through the use of two words: “Kairos” which equates to opportunity and “Kronos” which equates to the clock measurement of time. "Kairos" (used 86 times in the New Testament) refers to an opportune time, a "moment" or a "season" such as "harvest time," whereas "chronos" or “Kronos” (used 54 times) refers to a specific amount of time, such as a day or an hour (e.g. Acts 13:18 and 27:9) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kairos). The Bible is incredibly amazing in how it is layered with meaning and imagery. Every name or word has a specific purpose or place. It is no surprise to me that Kairos is mentioned way more than Kronos. I also love the imagery attached to Kairos—a harvest, a season. Growth comes to mind when you think about harvest…seasons…It holds much more weight. In our world today, we have been programed to see “Kronos”. What if we adopt a “Kairos,” opportunity, mindset? Making the most of what we have. Putting our phones down when we are sitting with each other. Taking the moments to ask our grandparents…parents…to tell use memories of their childhood. To listen to a friend or stranger and learn from them and their stories. One thing I can promise, is that you can and will always learn something from another person. Yes. That’s right. We all have valuable nuggets of wisdom inside each and every one of us that will enlighten another person. Sometimes the best way to spend time is by simply being present. Busy-ness is not the goal in life. Activity does not equal accomplishment. I am not suggesting to not do work, but what I am suggesting is to be present in the work that you are doing. Be mindful.

Ephesians 5:15-16 Therefore, be careful how you live, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” As a Christian, I truly believe that our world’s days are numbered. I definitely know my days are numbered-haha! But I do believe the Lord is coming back soon! Mark 13:23-33 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” Sure there are events that still need to unfold as told in the bible for Christ’s return, but those can unfold very quickly and very soon. The framework is certainly laid for it. I don’t know about you, but I have felt this urgency. My heart aches for the lost and I feel like I desperately need to be doing more for the Kingdom! My prayer for every day is that God uses me for that very reason. I have a heart for the lost and ache for wisdom and discernment as to how to share the gospel and grow The Kingdom…especially working with young people. There is a lot of confusion and misguiding going on in the world. Blurred lines. What our culture says love is. What our culture praises. There is so much pain and hurt going on and it comes from the God Shaped hole in everyone’s life. So many people are lost! I actually get really depressed when I think about it. It almost suffocates and paralyzes me. I want to do everything and feel absolutely overwhelmed at the same time.

Anyone else feel this way?!

I understand that it is not my job to save the lost…in fact, I have no power to do that, only Christ can…but what I can do is be a vessel for God to use. This year I have felt urgency in wanting to find ways to be a vessel. Sometimes I get distracted in the, “what can I do” and the “doing” that I miss the opportunity to spend TIME with God. That is all that He desires. I need to spend more time with Him, and in so doing, I will be more sensitive to seeing the opportunities that He is giving me to be a vessel. The more you know The Father, the more you will know His will for you! I am glad I have this urgency and a heart for the lost…I pray that all of my brothers and sisters in Christ feel that. But I also want us (and me!!!) to have an urgency in spending time with God our father. Just as we long to spend time with family, friends, or even loved ones lost, The Creator of the Universe longs to spend time with you! That is mind blowing to me. What a good God we have! Spending time with God is an investment. Remember those 86,400 pennies (seconds)? When you spend those with God your return on investment will blow your mind! Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

I surely hope that this week’s message does not guilt you, but rather inspire you. When I look back on my time with my grandmother, I am happy with how it was spent. Sure there are moments where I wish I would have put my phone down and really looked into her eyes. Sure there were opportunities that I missed spending with her, when I was caught in my busyness. But the important thing to remember is that I truly cherished the time I had with her. My scar of grief is something that I bear with proudness because it represents the depth of connection that I had with her. The depth of the hurt from her absence is exactly equal to the depth of joy that she brought me. Makes me think of that classic tattoo fail—"No Regerts” …haha Truly though, I have no REGRETS. I’m thankful that this taught me to not miss opportunities in spending time with family and loved ones. To ask my parents and friends the questions I missed asking my grandmother. When I look back on the time I spent with God so far, I want to do better. I don’t want to miss seeing the opportunities He is laying before me. Time spent with God is an OPPORTUNITY. An opportunity to not only grow in your relationship with Him, but grow in who you are. In understanding His will and your purpose. An opportunity to learn how to grow His kingdom. I will continue to train my mind to have a “Kairos” mindset. I think the pandemic shutdown has gently nudged us all when it comes to how we spend our time. It has taught us that we have absolutely no control over anything. EXCEPT, of course, our perspective and attitude. See the opportunity. Seize the Opportunity. Seize the day….the hour…the minutes…the seconds…

List one way you “make the most of your time” each day:

Finish this sentence: Last year (or perhaps in 2019 considering last year was a little atypical), I never had enough time to:

Look at your responses. Now do something about it!! And ask yourself the following: How much time am I spending with the Lord? What is one way I can spend my time to help grow The Kingdom?

2 Peter 3: 8-9 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.