It Takes Time (Are You Willing To Give It?)
By: Kristen L. McNulty
Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.
Time. When was the last time you felt like you had enough of it? In our culture we have made ourselves so busy with schedules filled to overflowing. We spend many hours at work or at school. Then there are family commitments. Church commitments. Social activities. Sports events. Not to mention the time suckers most commonly referred to as social media and streaming television. Our commitments and activities might be different, but what all of us seem to have in common is our busy lives. But if you thought the purpose of today’s devotional is to tell you to slow down, I’d say not so fast. No pun intended. This isn’t a challenge to slow down from leading busy lives, but today’s devotional is a challenge for all of us to reevaluate how it is we are spending our time. Because unlike some of our friends, families, or coworkers, we have a commitment that comes first. A calling on our lives to not just be the church, but to serve as the church. We are called to be living out the Great Commission and living out the Great Commission takes time. A question we all need to ask ourselves is it time we are willing to give?
Does The Church Really Expect Too Much?
I’ve heard it said often that the church simply expects too much of its members. I’ve heard complaints about different elders or pastors, that when they talk about serving and ministry, that they just aren’t realistic in what they want their members to do. But let me challenge you on this: if there is a conflict in our schedule that is restricting us from fully committing to building God’s kingdom here on earth, then it isn’t the churches job to water down that responsibility, but it is our job to make some changes in our schedule so we can devote the time to it that is needed.
No where in the Bible does it call us to live our lives exactly like everyone else on planet earth. In fact, the Bible does say the opposite. Let’s take a look at Romans 12 starting at verse one:
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice-the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2
We are called to live lives that don't copy the culture. We are called to give ourselves to God as a living and holy sacrifice. If we are not sacrificing anything to serve God and we’re able to easily work church and ministry into our overloaded schedules then maybe we are holding back from what we should be giving. The church shouldn’t be an afterthought. Ministry shouldn’t be an afterthought. Instead of scheduling our volunteering around what time works for us, we should be designing our schedule around when we are needed and let everything else come second to that. Our lives and our schedules shouldn’t look similar to those of our unbelieving friends and neighbours. As Francis Chan once put it: "Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers."
Startling Stats
Our schedules should be so different that it makes people stop and wonder, both outside the church, and yes, sometimes even within it. Because within our churches putting the time required towards living out the Great Commission isn't practiced well at all. The Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations (EPIC) report, found that: “Volunteering continues to drop, with 40% of church membership volunteering in early 2020 and only 20% volunteering by March 2022."
If only 20% of those of us who are a church member are serving or volunteering, then 80% of us are not an example to be followed, but a cautionary tale to be avoided. Let's jump into 1 John 2 which reads:
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 John 2:15-17
And what pleases God? Let’s revisit Romans 12:1:
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice-the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. And don't forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. Hebrews 13:15-16
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion-how can God's love be in that person? Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.
1 John 3:16-19
And finally, Jesus’ Great Commissions instructions,
Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20
Instruction From The Book of James
Loving others, serving, doing what pleases God and living out the Great Commission takes time and a truly Biblical lifestyle doesn’t allow for any wiggle room out of giving that time. Community committees and social clubs and sports and movies and time with friends are all good things on the surface, but good things can still be wrong things when we let them consume so much of our time and energy that we have very little left to God at the end of the day or week. The Bible makes it clear that God expects more than us just giving Him our leftover time. How can we claim to be really following Jesus when we aren't willing to give him our time? What a tragedy it would be when we meet Him face to face one day, to look back on our lives and see that we spent our time on earth 90% for us and what we wanted to spend our time on and 10% on Him. I don’t want that to be me. And if you don’t want that to be your story either then it starts with change here and now. Some wisdom from the book of Ephesians:
So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Ephesians 5:15-17
Maybe our not acting thoughtlessly and understanding what the Lord wants us to do requires us to erase our entire schedule and not fill it in with wants or obligations, but prayerfully start over, devoting time to His kingdom first and other things second.
It Takes Time
After all, it takes time (and practice) for the worship team to do what they do well. It takes hours and hours of time for your Pastor to prepare his message every Sunday. It takes an unspoken amount of time for the radio station you're hearing this program on to do what they do to bring you this kind of programming. It takes time for the people running the food bank to not only prepare the meals, but serve it to those who are hungry. It takes time to teach Sunday school. It takes time to plan and organize outreach events. And it took time for the person who told you about Jesus to do so. There are no shortcuts, only an investment of our time into what truly matters.
Life is short and we only have this one life to make an impact that will have implications that reach into eternity. There is a world of people out there who need to know Jesus and the only way they will be introduced to Him is if we as the church, as followers of Christ, do whatever it takes and give whatever time we can, to bring His hope and love and light to a world living in darkness. That is the calling on our lives and this calling is one that requires our time, are you willing to give it?
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