“Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.” Psalm 144:4
“I like 6 o’clock being 7 o’clock a whole lot better than I did its being 5 o’clock.” I said.
“What?” my wife, Amanda, asked with a look of bewilderment on her pretty face.
“I said, I like 6 o’clock being…”
“I heard what you said, but what did you mean?”
“I just simply meant that I like slow time better than I do fast time.”
“You have lost me. I have no idea what you are talking about.”
After living with her for over two decades, I should have remembered that mine is the scientific mind in the family. Amanda is more romantic than scientific. So, I carefully explained. “Remember we have to turn the clocks forward tonight. When we do that, 6 o’clock, which had become 5 o’clock when we had to turn the clocks up last spring, became 7 o’clock because we turned them back this fall.”
“I don’t think you know what you are talking about.” she said.
“Let me try again. You see,” I started slowly because I could tell this was going to take a while for me to explain. “You see, cold air is heavier than warm air and in the winter months it presses down on the earth. The cold air slows the rotation of the earth down and that’s why scientists must turn the clocks back so we can keep time in pace with the slower rotation. But, then in the spring when the air becomes warmer it doesn’t press down on the earth and the earth spins faster. Therefore, the government makes us set our clocks forward. We have to adjust our clocks to keep up with the fast time.”
“Honey, time is time. An hour is an hour no matter if it’s hot or cold.” she said.
I smiled at her and said, “Okay.” It was pointless to continue. Since she is not scientifically minded, I should not have been surprised that she didn’t understand my reasoning.
Flawed logic is everywhere. Take, for example, the logic of a lost person. Someone is reading this right now, and you are lost without Jesus Christ. Your life is focused on things that perish with the passing of time. You are busy chasing money, possessions, and pleasures while the days are flying off the calendar.
Last week, I was visiting with an eighty-seven-year old man. At one point in our conversation, he said, “It seems like I was a young man just yesterday. The years have passed by me so quickly. I feel like I wasted so much of my life.” My heart hurt for that man as he looked back on a life filled with regrets.
Your time on this earth is limited, but you are eternal. If you are not careful, you can let the passing dominate the permanent. You can spend your life pursuing things that will pass away and ignore your eternal soul.
The point is: Your life on earth is like a shadow that passes with time. Even though your days on earth will end, you will not. You will spend eternity in either heaven or hell. There is only one way out of hell and into heaven and that is salvation through Jesus Christ. If you have never received Christ as your personal Savior, do it today. Believe that Jesus shed His blood on the cross to forgive your sins, and that He conquered death by rising from the grave. Ask Him to save you today.
Don’t wait. The clock is ticking.
James Collins is the senior Pastor of First Southern Baptist Church. He wants to remind you to think scientifically and set your clocks forward one hour tonight before you go to bed. For more information on his ministry go to the website www.fortscottfsbc.com.