OFF ONE HOUR
Don Hawley
Just inside the entry of our home is a beautiful grandfather clock. It's a masterpiece of polished wood and gleaming glass, all supportive of a highly ornate face. Its melodious chimes conclude with deep, authoritative bongs that announce the time of day. There's just one problem; for months this masterpiece has been confused about the exact time. It's consistently short one count in striking the hours.
I believe most Christians today have the same problem; they're off one hour. They know the Lord said, "Behold, I am coming soon," but that was two thousand years ago. It's not easy to keep geared up with so much passage of time. Still, many Christians think that today the hour truly is near. Even scientists warn that mankind is "minutes to midnight." My problem is that I fear none of us know just how near "near" really is. We think it's about to strike 11 p.m., when actually we are closer to midnight.
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matt. 24:42-44.
Time and again Christ warned his followers in detail about the impending crisis, but they thought in terms of 11 p.m. Jesus resisted any attempts to alter the divine timing, but once his "time had come," events moved with blinding speed. Within hours the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord were history. Huddled in an upper room, the disciples were numb with fear and disbelief because they were "off one hour."
Eternal God is not locked into time, but we can think only in such terms. We're still tinkering with our little plans to bring in the kingdom, but we need to remember that God has plans of his own. He's not as dependent on us as we think.
He will finish the work, and cut it short. Rom. 9:28.
When omnipotent deity says "short," we would do well to consider he might just mean what he says. God is not safely contained in our little denominational boxes; he's on the loose. Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and he isn't a tame lion.
During Christ's first sojourn even religious people were out of synch with events because they "didn't recognize the time of God's coming." Now he's about to come again, and we still don't grasp the immediacy of our day. Because we do not "recognize the time," our ministry lacks focus, intensity, and Holy Spirit direction. Even if we're saved at last, we could miss out on the privilege of working with our Lord in the harvest.
God's eternal timepiece is about to strike midnight. It would be tragic if we were to be off just one hour.