Spring Forward.

On yesterday, millions of Americans set their clocks an hour ahead in accordance with Daylight Savings Time, a tradition that dates back to World War I, when the federal government began persuading states to save energy for war production by taking advantage of daylight hours between April and October.

Aside from Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, every state and territory within the United States observes this ritual; a ritual that is also reversed on the first Sunday of November, as we set our clocks back and hour and return to Standard Time.

I’ve always found it rather interesting how we typically respond when it is time to change our clocks. When we SPRING FORWARD, we refer to it as LOSING an hour. And when we FALL BACK later in the year, we refer to that as GAINING an hour.

More often than not, when it comes to any other circumstance or situation in our lives, we would typically attribute the act of springing forward as gaining, and the act of falling back to losing. When it comes to our individual pursuits and petitions to God to provide for us better employment or perhaps healthier relationships, many of us would have very little problem if He decided to spring forward, without a single thought as to whether an hour of our time was lost in the process.

However, when God makes the decision to fall back and delay our requests, very few of us stand in confidence about what we gained in the process.

Let’s face it: when it comes to the management of our own TIME, our system of analyzing what is personally profitable and what is not, is completely reversed.

It is undeniable that the greatest commodity you and I have on this earth is our time. As believers, it is imperative for us to know that how we choose to spend (or save) our time has eternal implications. Despite our government’s modest attempt to save on time, the Apostle Paul nearly 2,000 years ago issued perhaps the most challenging time savings plan this world has ever seen.

But what things were GAIN to me, these I have counted LOSS for Christ.

Yet indeed I also count all things LOSS for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the LOSS of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may GAIN Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousnes which is from God by faith…

…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. - Philippians 3:7-11

Imagine what our world would look like if we divided our time into two areas: what would be a GAIN for Christ, and consequently, a LOSS for us. While doing so may appear to cause personal suffering, what is GAINED through faith is truly immeasurable.

I hope you set your clocks right this weekend.

Related posts:

1. Changing The World.
2. Without Faith.
3. Unity Through Disunity.
4. Freedom Isn’t Free.
5. Pray Before You Prey.

Category: Life & Faith