An Exploration of Time
We have this one precious life, so how do we live it well? How does God invite us to look at time?
Hey friends!
The countdown has officially begun. In three days, we will finally move into our new apartment! It’s been such a long time coming and the anticipation is real, people. As we get closer, the days seem to be stretching longer, but we are nearly there. Somehow time is moving fast and slow simultaneously. Isn’t that such a strange feeling?
Time is a tricky thing. The last year of my life has taught me more about time than all the years before it. So many days I felt restless in my sabbatical, wanting to work again, to be busy again, to feel useful, and now I find myself desperately wanting to stretch my days just a bit longer so I squeeze the quiet back in.
It seems we spend our lives trying to keep up only to realize the best thing for us to do is actually slow down. The only real time we have is the present, yet so often we feel the boundary lines blur. So, how can we make sure to live the life we’re called to live in the time we have? How can we maximize the good out of each moment? Or, to quote Mary Oliver from my last post: “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”1 Today I want to talk with you about time.
So, let’s dive in together…
Although the world tried to teach me time was precious, more often than not, it actually encouraged me to hurry — like somehow packing more in meant I was making time count.
I remember reading William Faulkner’s The Sound and The Fury for the first time in college, and I couldn’t get over how he played with time — it was imposing and chaotic. I found myself constantly questioning the quality of time in the various narratives. I can’t tell you how long I spent wrestling with Faulkner’s time.
It was one of the first moments where I recognized how bound by time my life often felt. As a 19 year old, I wanted desperately to pack as much life into my life as I could, but somehow in the process, I found myself losing more in the present than I was conscious of. The blurred spaces between one thing and the next left me living in a hurry.
As I got older, the narrative shifted but the treatment of time remained the same. If I kept moving, if I kept the plates spinning, if I kept doing, if I kept squeezing more in, I would make the most out of my single life. Yet, I wasn’t really living in the present at all. I was bound by time and an obsession to live life to the fullest.
It was only until I came back into my faith when I realized the toxicity of this thinking. I remember sitting in my lounge one afternoon in prayer. I was new to my faith and seeing God move in miraculous ways in my inner life, but I simultaneously found myself experiencing a type of grief. I couldn’t quite name what had spurred the feeling. I was wishing I never stopped following Jesus as a teenager. I was wishing my past mistakes away. I was grieving all the time I lost with God after rejecting him for so long.
As I sat in prayer and authentically shared my grief with God, he tenderly reminded me that time is a human construct. His time is actually endless. His plans for my life were present and eternity focused. Yes, all the things I did with my one precious life mattered, but he would waste nothing. And, the Gospel I believe — the truth of Jesus and life beyond this world — describes an eternity ahead of me.
There was no shame attached to the life I lived away from God. There was no wasted time because truly he would use it all. I was grieving the choices I made to separate myself from God, but I was never really separated from him at all. He was always there, waiting for me to return. And, he had a plan to use every bit of it.
Every bit of brokenness, he would heal.
Every bit of regret, he would wipe away.
Every bit of disappointment, he would redeem.
He could quicken time and grow a spiritual maturity within me in a single day that would represent a lifetime. He could wipe away all pain in a single instance. He could heal in a moment. He could stretch time and give me margin in my day that felt like years with him.
You see, I was so worried about the time I lost, but really I hadn’t lost a single moment. It was all part of my story. It may not be what he wanted for me all the time, but he already had a plan to redeem it before a single decision was made.
One of the most important truths I’ve learned is that God is timeless — He lives outside the bounds of our human construct of time.
Although we should not live obsessively chasing time, it is true that we have one life to live on this earth — a life with purpose, calling, and intention.
As Christians, we believe that after death we enter eternity with God. There are lots of different ideas of what this looks like, but my favorite perspective is explained quite well by John Mark Comer in Garden City. Throughout this incredible book, John Mark references some pretty amazing writers and thinkers who speak on what eternity will be. I don’t have enough space here to break it down in the way I’d like to, but I will briefly explain his perspective which I find compelling.
John Mark talks about calling as a lifelong pursuit of becoming the person God created you to be — in all the fullness of his intentional design. My understanding is that the realization of this person only comes into completion at the end of our life when we come face-to-face with the one who created us and he tells us exactly who we are. Throughout our lifetime on earth, we get glimpses of this and God takes us along a journey of discovery, but we only get the fullness of who we are truly when we enter eternity and all the puzzle pieces fit together.
Scripture speaks of a renewed earth upon Jesus’s return, which means we will be living on this same earth but it will be renewed and restored to God’s original plan. Imagine life on earth in perfect unity with God as he intended in the garden before the fall — no pain, no suffering, no malice, no violence, no hatred — only pure love with the Creator of the Universe and his creation.
In this eternity, we continue to make culture, build cities, live life, but it is perfected because that life is lived in unity with God the way he always intended. Our calling continues and stretches out into eternity. If God has gifted you as an artist, you will flourish as an artist in eternity. If God has gifted you as a teacher, he will continue to use and grow that gift of teaching in eternity.
It begins here, but goes on forever.
This is why what you do now matters because you are building a foundation for calling which stretches out beyond this life. The pieces of the puzzle you put together now become the foundation for what God builds in you for eternity. This is the best theology I have ever encountered on life after Jesus’s return. It inspires me to journey toward calling. It helps me see how each job is a building block. It encourages me to continue to set aside time to listen to God’s voice on identity and purpose.
This view of eternity helps me see the purpose in my life while simultaneously removing any fear of death. Don’t get me wrong — I am in no rush to go because I have work to do here, but I am not afraid of dying.
God has given me this one precious life, and I am using the time I have to come as fully into my identity as I can by drawing close to him. Along the way, I’m learning how to love people well on this earth and fulfill the purposes God has for me here. These are priorities I hold dear to in the present. But, I’m also not afraid of death because I know it is not the end of the end. There is something very freeing about recognizing your own mortality while knowing with a deep certainty that there is more beyond.
Life becomes more precious and death is nothing to fear.
So, let’s briefly talk about our own mortality, but hopefully in a way that inspires you to prioritize what is most important.
Our time in this life on this earth is finite. We are mortal. Accepting our own mortality and using the time we have to come the closest we can to the fullness of our identity is essential. Through this process, we can learn to prioritize what matters most to us.
A Massachusetts General Hospital physician named Jennifer Temel led a study called “Early Palliative Care for Patients with Metastatic Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer”. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of introducing palliative care early after diagnosis for patients with stage four terminal lung cancer. The standard practice at the time was to introduce palliative care in the final stage of life, but Dr. Temel and her research team were curious as to the effects of introducing it earlier on in the diagnosis.
And, the results were staggering.
Dr. Temel’s conclusion highlights the following: “Among patients with metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer, early palliative care led to significant improvements in both quality of life and mood. As compared with patients receiving standard care, patients receiving early palliative care had less aggressive care at the end of life but longer survival.”2 Those patients who received palliative care early on experienced less suffering overall and lived 25% longer.
Why did palliative care make such a positive impact on the end of these patients’ lives?
Because they were facing their own mortality and able to talk about the things that were most important to their quality of life at the end. Patients could decide how they wanted to spend the time they had left. Palliative care helped them identify their priorities and what was most important for them, which ultimately helped them make informed decisions about how they wanted to live in their final days.
Perhaps it could do us all a bit of good to think about our own mortality, and not in a way that scares us, but in a way that encourages us to accept that our life on this earth is finite and what we do with our time matters.
When Tim Keller shared openly about his terminal cancer diagnosis, he said, “The way you look at God, the way you look at your spouse – the way you look at everything – changes when you realize time is limited and you are mortal.”3
You have one precious and beautiful life.
What you do with it matters.
How you choose to live your life matters.
How you spend your time matters.
It matters how we love people.
It matters what we create.
It matters how we see ourselves and the world around us.
It all matters.
When God created you, he designed you so uniquely. He gave you gifts, a personality, desires, and skill sets. He has good plans for your life and longs for you to walk in your identity and calling with purpose.
But, it’s not about squeezing as much life into a single moment as you can. It’s about prioritizing what is most important and loving ourselves and others well in the process.
We do not live in this life and this earth forever, but Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection reminds us that this is not the end of it all. Living with both an understanding of your own mortality and a belief of eternity can create space to prioritize what matters most in the time you have.
Because you are building the foundation for your calling which will stretch into eternity. So, partner with God in all you do. Listen for his voice as he speaks to you about who you are. Be obedient when he invites you into something new.
The time you have is precious and there is so much purpose for you. Whether you are sixteen or sixty, if you are living and breathing on this earth, God still has work for you here. There is more to discover, more to become, and more to learn. He is never done teaching and he is never done speaking.
Here is my prayer for you…
May you live in the tension of the now and not yet knowing that God has good plans for you in this life and he longs to share them with you. May you learn to recognize his voice, and may you be brave to listen. And when the time comes at the end of your days, may you know that you lived this life well, and may you know with a certainty that there is still more to come.
The Poetry Nook
I wrote the following poem while sitting out on the porch in the early morning at my parent’s home in the Outer Banks. I was coming off a difficult week dealing with a family crisis, and I was trying to slow down and focus my attention on God in the midst of it all. In all honesty, I was fighting the solitude until suddenly things seemed to go quiet and still around me — like time stopped. I felt God’s peace wash over me. Then, all I could hear was a flurry of chirping birds, softly discussing their morning among the trees. I found comfort in the soft chirping, and I was reminded of how precious this life really is.
Morning Hymns
Sometimes I wonder if the birds chirping in the hours just before sunrise are singing morning hymns.
I imagine them whispering Psalms to their Creator—
Thanking him for the sky
and the trees
and the worms
and this life.
What a miracle it is to be alive in this world.
There’s a Book on That
John Mark Comer’s Garden City is one of my favorite books of all time. I may have already mentioned it before, but I couldn’t not include it for this week’s post. This is one of the best books I’ve read on identity and calling, and John Mark explains a theology of work that is really inspiring.
As always, here is a taster:
“We’re called to a very specific kind of work. To make a Garden-like world where image bearers can flourish and thrive, where people can experience and enjoy God’s generous love. A kingdom where God’s will is done “on earth as it is in heaven,” where the glass wall between earth and heaven is so thin and clear and translucent that you don’t even remember it’s there. That’s the kind of world we’re called to make. After all, we’re just supposed to continue what God started in the beginning.”4
Just in case you missed these recent posts:
Sacred Stops on the Journey of Calling: The journey of calling is lifelong and God will plant us in different places, jobs, and seasons along the way. Why is it important to tune into God's voice to reflect on the purpose of placement?
Can We Live More Like an Ecosystem?: In a world that celebrates the individual, how can we choose to live differently? Perhaps there is wisdom in God's creation, in nature's systems, which hold the keys to a more Christlike life.
Remembering as a Spiritual Discipline: A reflection on the role of memory in our faith journey. Sometimes we have to look back in order to have faith for what is yet to come
The Illusion of Control: We like to think we have control, but really we have far less than we think. What would it look like to loosen our grip? How can prayer and exhortation give us courage to trust God to make a way?
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Thanks again for reading this week’s newsletter. Cheers to diving into the deep together!
With love,
Jamie
“Poem 133: The Summer Day.” Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-and-literature/poet-laureate/poet-laureate-projects/poetry-180/all-poems/item/poetry-180-133/the-summer-day/
Temel, Jennifer S., et al. “Early palliative care for patients with metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer.” New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 363, no. 8, 19 Aug. 2010, pp. 733–742, https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa1000678.
Brierley, Justin and Ruth Jackson. “Tim Keller: ‘I never want to go back to the prayer life I had before cancer’”. Premier Christianity. 27 January 2023. https://www.premierchristianity.com/interviews/tim-keller-i-never-want-to-go-back-to-the-prayer-life-i-had-before-cancer/14736.article
Comer, John Mark. Garden City. Thomas Nelson, 2017.