Time is Running Out

God has been talking to me a lot lately. Or maybe I just now cleaned out my ears so I could hear Him. One of the main things He has laid on my heart recently is a sense of urgency. The phrase “time is running out” keeps popping into my mind and consuming my thoughts and in turn, my actions.

For example, I have always loved quality time with people (Facebook will tell you that is my love language. . .not that I rely on facebook quizzes to dictate my spiritual life). I LOVE getting together for coffee dates, even though I don’t drink coffee. I have had the opportunity to meet with new friends and old friends recently for lunch, “coffee” or just to chat under the pretense of food. Lately, however, I have felt a need to connect with people individually and to thoroughly appreciate the people God has placed in my life. I keep having the sense that I am running out of time and that any time not spent with people (or a productive, necessary activity) is time wasted.

I am not saying that this urgency is God warning me that something catastrophic is going to happen and so I better cram in everything I can and, oh yeah, ride Fu Man Chu while I’m at it. But then again, something catastrophic could happen at any moment and all of my “somedays” and “maybe laters” will be dust in the wind.So here’s the crux: isn’t living with urgency how Jesus lived on earth? He made time for people – went out of his way for strangers as well as friends. He was a vagabond, a traveler – he did not have a home. He went around teaching in temples, prophesying at the dinner table and spent time fasting intensely, healing people and raising people from the dead. I mean, c’mon! This guy did not mess around.

Jesus knew a time was coming when He would no longer be in man’s flesh, able to sit down in our homes and teach our children. So He took the town by storm and gathered a team of men to help Him spread His message of love and redemption. He revolutionized His world, not pursuing His own pleasures on earth, but rather by serving man, taking time to invest in others, and teaching how to love completely.

I do not know why exactly God is placing this sense of urgency on my heart right now but my prayer is that I will always live with urgency and I may be a more effective Christian because of it. Once we grasp how incredible and infinite and complex our God is, it will revolutionize our own life. Then we become a catalyst in our world and are empowered to drastically change the world of those we share the earth with. Let’s hold each other accountable to be this kind of catalyst so we can get with God’s incredible plans for our lives, our cities and our world.