If I Could Turn Back Time

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come.  

We only have today. Let us begin.” 
― Mother Teresa 

Ok. Go ahead. Use your best Cher impersonation and sing along!  :) 

If we could only turn back the clock: look a little younger, relive the good times and forget the bad ones.  But we can’t.  When we hear people who are ‘just killing time,’ they indeed are. You can always make more money; you can’t make more time.  We just have today. 

There are two types of time in the Greek:  kronos and kairos.  Let’s first take a look a the differences.  
 
1.  Kronos. This is the kind of time that can be measured in days, hours, minutes, and seconds. It’s clock time and where we get our word, chronological.  This kind of time is measured and quantifiable.  
 
2.  Kairos. This kind of time is more qualitative and refers to just the right moment or opportunity for something to come together.  
 
Let’s look at some of the scriptures that refer to these two classifications.   

The idea of kronos is easier for us to understand, because it is the language of our day.  What time do I need to be there? How long does it take? We read many times in both the Old and New Testament of kronos when we see passages that focus on genealogy. 

In Galatians 4:5-6, we read, ‘in the fullness of time, God sent his son.’  Jesus came at just the right time.  There was a common language, Greek.  There was a common government, Roman. The road system allowed for the gospel to be carried throughout the region.  It was the fullness of time when Jesus came to die for the redemption of our sin. 

The concept of kairos is used at least 84 times in the New Testament, reminding us that in God’s time, he moves through the power of the Holy Spirit to bring together a season, an opportune time, or a harvest. 

When we say we want to turn back time, we are thinking about the years that have gone way too quickly or the day that flew by or the lifetime where we see the years that have already lived are greater than the years that we have remaining this side of heaven. 

What would our life look like if we actually were aware of the kairos moments?  How would we shift our priorities?  What would the ebb and flow of our daily activities look like?   

Here are a couple of reflection questions to ponder as you think through your life. 

• How is God bringing together all of my past experiences in order to use them for the present and future?  Like Esther, for such a time as this? 

• How do I see God working in my life to bring about the opportune time to take a step of faith?  To move forward into those dreams that have been in your heart for years? 

We get caught up in kronos time and are unaware of the kairos opportunities that are right in front of us. Although we want to turn back time and we can’t, we also can’t recreate missed opportunities that God has put before us. It’s time to get out of the boat and take your steps in faith for what God has in store for you in your kairos moment!