Our limited time

Our Limited Time

Have you ever looked back to your past memories and questioned if it was really that long ago? Or maybe, you’ve felt like you just got given your exam notification yesterday, but the test is tomorrow, and you haven’t started studying! This all links back to one thing we often contemplate: time. How often do we use our time for what actually matters? Not a lot. And this is something that the majority, if not everyone, struggles with. Once we realise how short and brief our time on Earth is, we’d be surprised!

Psalm 39:4-6

“O Lord, make me know my end

    and what is the measure of my days;

    let me know how fleeting I am!

Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,

    and my lifetime is as nothing before you.

Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

    Surely a man goes about as a shadow!

Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;

    man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

We live a very short life, and Psalms even describes it as a “mere breath.” Yet, even if we know this, do we really change how we do things and use our time? We idolise the things of this world and spend our time on our phones (social media), binging on movies, obsessing over money or even getting too invested in our studies. As result, we forget what we really need to spend our time on. 

What’s in your heart determines what you do and, as a result, how you spend your time. We tend to spend most of our time on what we value the most in our lives. This is why we must ensure that what’s in our hearts is not set upon worldly things, but the things of eternal value, so that we can learn to spend our time on what really matters instead. Ultimately, all worldly things won’t last, and there will be no purpose in them other than to satisfy us temporarily, so will it matter after we die? These things would only last while we live on earth and have no other value after that; all the time that we would have spent on them will be wasted! Our hearts and minds should focus only on what will last for eternity – our relationship with God.

Back to the Fundamental Principles

As you may already know, the chief end of man, the main purpose of man’s life, is to glorify and enjoy him forever. If we know that God created us, then we must also understand He defines us and sets our purpose for life as well. Our job in our very short life is to glorify God in every way possible, using the talents that God has gifted each and every one of us with.

1 Cor 10:31

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 

What should we be spending our time on?

As teenagers in this society, we tend to waste our time on useless things and worldly temptations. Just like mentioned above, we must seek every opportunity to glorify Him and our lives must be dedicated to serving God and God only. The teenage years are extremely important in shaping us in humility to serve God and glorify Him. Doing this is definitely not easy with all the temptations around us; it needs perseverance and earnestness. We must remember that we can’t do this alone, but we need God to strengthen us each day to persevere through this. We just need to have willingness and earnestness in seeking God through our prayers and daily meditation on God’s Word.

Finally, in the book, Don’t Waste Your Life, written by John Piper, one of its famous lines  is:

“But whatever you do, find the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated passion of your life, and find your way to say it and live for it and die for it. And you will make a difference that lasts. You will not waste your life.” ― John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life

This is something we should genuinely ponder on and examine in ourselves each day. Are we really using our limited time on earth wisely? Or are we just wasting our teenage years for “fun”? Is our life “Christ-centred” and “Christ-exalting”?