Passing the Time
Today’s Verse:
And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: ~1 Peter 1:17
We live in a busy, commuter society. Invariably, many of us depend on public transportation for work, drive long distances in traffic, and ride airplanes to go across the country. This commuter time gives us intervals of opportunity to pass our time. In other words, we have blocks of time to use. We can pass the time sleeping, reading, working, or in idleness. How you view life and God dictates how you pass the time. The believers during Peter’s day were in upheaval because they were uprooted, unsettled, and discouraged. As Peter writes to these believers, he is encouraging them on how to pass the time.
We see a faithful pilgrimage.
He refers to our pilgrimage, or our sojourning. A sojourner is an itinerant traveler, pilgrim, and nomad. He does not put down his roots in a permanent location. Spiritually speaking, that is an apt description of the faith walk. We are sojourners, or travelers, through this world. Our citizenship is in Heaven. We are called to pass the time of our sojourning in fear. Our faith journey is taking us to Heaven. There is no reason for us to permanently be rooted in this world. We brought nothing into this world, and we are taking nothing out. We are called to walk by faith and not by sight. The glitter of this world is not to distract us from the brilliance of eternity! “This world is not my home; I’m just a-passing through.” Let’s pass our time here in faithfulness!
We see a future presentation.
We are reminded that God will, without respect of persons, judge every man’s work. First, every unsaved man will stand before the Great White Throne to be judged of one thing: what they did with the opportunity of taking, by faith, the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior for their sins. There is no escape for any sinner who rejects God’s offer of salvation. Second, every Christian will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ for their works for the Lord. At this judgment, Christians will be judged and evaluated on what they did for Jesus after they were saved. How did we build upon our foundation, which is Christ? What kind of material did we build with? What kind of motives did we build with? What kind of methods did we build with? The works of the believer will be tried with fire to see what he built upon. Will it pass the test of fire, or will it be burned, resulting in loss? This future presentation is inevitable and unavoidable. Did we pass our time with wisdom and diligence?
We see a focus on prayer.
“And if ye call on the Father….” One of the greatest challenges that we face as Christians is spending qualitative and quantitative time in prayer. These believers were going through tough trials. Trials should draw us closer to God in prayer. Unfortunately, many Christians fail the command to pray without ceasing. So, Peter reminds us of our relationship. God is our Father. We can go to Him and cry out, “Abba, Father.” We have a direct access to Him through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is never too busy for us. Then, Peter reminds us of our responsibility. We are to call upon the Lord. It is implied that every Christian should pray. Men are to pray everywhere. We are to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” We are to pass our time in earnest prayer.
As Christians, we are in an interval of time before Jesus comes for us. We are to pass our time with wisdom, with working, and with waiting. Don’t pass the time away: pass the time abundantly!
Have a circumspect God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Mark 15-16