Be sure to call a timeout before your time runs out

As we come to the middle of September, I can’t help but wonder, where did the summer go? I was reminded of that old saying, “time moves slowly, but passes quickly.”

That started me thinking about time. Here is the definition of time: A nonspatial continuum measured in terms of events which succeed one another from past through present to future.

Time is a funny thing. It is elusive, irreversible, sometimes pressing, it can be fleeting, it is absolute, and nonstoppable. I don’t have near enough time or space to go into all the aspects of time, but there is one thing for sure, we all live under the restraint, and constraint, of time.

Or at least we will until the Lord takes us home. There is no “time zone” in heaven.

Solomon tells us in the third chapter of Ecclesiastes that there is a “time” for everything under the sun. The first thing he says is there is time to be born, and a “time to die.”

That is what I want to focus on in this article. A “time to die.” Hebrews 9:27 tell us: “it is appointed unto men once to die.” James tells us how short our time is. James 4:14: “whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

I wonder, in this fast-paced, materialistic world, how many people ever stop and take the time to consider that, or what happens after they die. I wonder how many people there are in the obituaries every day who never gave that much thought.

Have you ever been in a place in your life where the world seemed to be moving so fast and out of control? So much to do and no time to do it. Have you ever been at a point where you just want to stop and yell, “Time out, time out!”

I have. Can I tell you right here, if you have never stopped and gave a thought about what happens when you die, you need to take a “timeout” right here and make a plan — a plan as to where you will spend eternity. A plan for your salvation. The Bible is very clear on when that time is. 2 Corinthians 6:2: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Remember, time is tick, tick, ticking away. William Shakespeare once said, “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” Benjamin Franklin said, “You may delay, but time will not.”

I say, “Don’t wait too long to take a timeout for salvation, because you can’t take a timeout after time has run out.”

Speaking of his return, Jesus said: “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.” (Mark 13:33)

There is an old Chicago song entitled, “Does Anybody Really Know What Time it Is?” Then it goes on to say, “Does anybody really care?” When it comes to where you will spend eternity, you better care what time it is.

The great news is, the plan for the salvation of mankind has all been laid out in the message of the gospels. John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

You see, Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on a cross for the sin of the world, was taken down, buried in a tomb, and three days later he rose from the dead. That is the good news of the Gospel. We receive that wonderful Gospel by “walking the Romans’ road.” We admit we have sinned. Romans 3:23: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We understand what we deserve is death. Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death ...” We repent and confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Romans 10:9: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

If you have never made that confession, it is my prayer that you take a timeout, right NOW, and do so, before time runs out. None of us knows when our picture may appear in the obituaries.

Hasselstrom is an evangelist with Cross Tied Ministries.