Man's Days Are As the Grass

The idea of taking advantage of time is something that is lost in today's culture and even in modern Christianity. The idea of youth and even the worship of youth is something that fosters immaturity of faith as well as practice. There was a time in Christian thought (and I suppose that many still think within these categories) when maturity and proper use of one's time was important to one's relationship with Christ.

It is recorded in the private diary of Rev. George Whitfield, the powerful 18th century revival preacher, that he lamented the fact that he wasted a half hour of time in a day. This was seen as a great sin. The seriousness of life, the preciousness of time, and the fact that man pines and dies in a few short years was on his heart and mind. Jonathan Edwards uses this idea of time wasted to call the converted and unconverted alike to take into account the fact that their time is pining away and that soon they will have to give account for how well they used this great gift from our God and Father in Heaven:

You are one to whom God has committed that precious talent. You have had a great deal of time. You have had a great deal of time that has past. And time is worth much to you as to others whether you are so sensible of the worth of it or no. You are the one that has an eternity before you. When God created you and gave you a reasonable soul, He made you for an eternity; and he gave you time here in order to prepare for eternity. And your future eternity depends on the improvement of time. Consider therefore what you have done with your past time. You are now beginning your time; but a great deal of your time is past and gone, and all the wit and power of the universe can't recover it. How have you spent it? Let your own conscious make your answer. There are many of you that may well conclude that half you time is gone. If you should to live to the ordinary age of man, your glass is more than half run, and perhaps there may be but few sands remaining; your sun is past the meridian, and perhaps just a setting, or going into an everlasting eclipse. Consider, therefore, for what account you can give of your improvement of your past time. How have you let the precious golden sands of your glass run?

Discussion Points:
-How have you used this gift of time to God's glory?
-Are you seeking maturity of faith, or are you content with what little experience of God you have?
-What areas of your life should be purged so that you have more time to develop your spiritual life?
-What are some scripture passages that can encourage us to use time properly?