The Right Time

Timing is everything! Whether boiling an egg or bailing hay, it may make the difference between success or failure!

My grandfather was a “dirt” farmer who grew up on a small Maine farm which he eventually owned and where my father and older brother were born in the same bed 29 years apart. There he raised crops and maintained a few farm animals to feed and support his family. Planting, caring for, and harvesting crops revolved around proper weather conditions. Frosts, temperatures, sun, and rain were always on his mind. Eventually, the right day would arrive for haying. When the crop was mature and dry, humidity was low, and no warning rain clouds were visible, it was go time!

I have memories of watching my father and grandfather scythe the field, pitch sun dried hay into a horse drawn wagon, and then refork it into the barn. There my older brother and I would jump from the rafters into mounds of fragrant, fresh hay. Fun! But not particularly wise for one with hay fever and asthma!

Scripture helps us understand the points of life and faith. Solomon wrote that “There is a time for every season and every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes). Discovering those purposes is time sensitive. Finishing life having missed its purposes would be awful!

Although created to be reflections of God’s loving goodness, to procreate, to enjoy ourselves, and to be stewards of the earth, we didn’t take long to proudly and willfully distort and disagree with those values. As a result, we became spiritually separated from God, physically broken, hopelessly disordered, and would have been completely lost if it had not been for God, who in loving patience has always accepted repentance and belief as redemptive. Yes, “ the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) But “in the fullness of time,” God sent Christ to die for us, to pay the penalty for our sins. Accepting that gift of forgiveness in belief happily restores us to God, His purposes, and His promises.

Isaiah recognized an urgency to finding and exercising faith. He instructed Israel, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6). The implications are clear! We have no promise of longevity. Our opportunity for salvation is time sensitive. Indecisiveness is tricky because over time we become less sensitive to or spiritually aware of our need and more hardened in our misguided ways.

Whether boiling an egg, bailing hay, or seeking redemption, timing is important. When Israel delayed, deliverance did not come. Jeremiah lamented, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” (Jeremiah 8:20). Later, the Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians that “now is the day of salvation” (2Corinthians 6:2).

That wisdom deserves strong consideration. Physical beginnings and endings frame our earthly time, but God desires an eternal relationship with us that begins here in a believing, trusting faith.