Someone shared a story with me the other day about a man who retired at the age 42 from the financial business, spending countless hours making his millions. He put 4 children through private school and university. I asked “but how much time did he spend with his children?” Interestingly enough after that conversation, I was reading chapter 16 of The Purpose Driven Life and it spoke on what matters most is love, and that time is the best expression of love. The other night my daughter suffering from a flu and cold virus came into my room in the middle of the night, saying that she had been awake for several hours and couldn’t sleep. I got up with her and gave her a drink and sat with her downstairs for about an hour until she felt ready to go back to sleep. After tucking her back into bed, she said “I love you mom”. I was reminded once again of Chapter 16. Just being with her and spending that time with her was an expression of love.
Author Rick Warren explains this connection between love and time: “Time is the most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make money, but you can’t make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you’ll never get back. Your time is your life. That’s why the greatest gift is your time”.
Whether through loving our children, and giving them the best of our time, or listening to a lonely neighbour share about her perennials, God calls us to love. Ephesians 5:2 says “Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us, a sacrifice to God”. That’s the thing, when our time comes to meet our Lord he won’t be asking us to show Him our medals, accomplishments and our bank accounts, He will ask “What did you do for the least of my brethren?”. (Matthew 25:40)
Relationships, not what we achieve or acquire is what is important most to God. Busyness, the author explains, is a great enemy of relationships. Becoming preoccupied with work, tasks, accomplishing goals, and paying bills takes away our focus of what is important and that is; life, and learning to love – God and people. God tells us in His word that “three things continue forever: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love”. (1 Corinthians 13:13) Paul said “without love I am bankrupt”. (1 Corinthians 13:3)
So I encourage you to love on purpose. 1 John 3:18 says “My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action”. To give someone our undivided focus is more valuable than gifts. Our exclusive attention says “you are valuable to me”. Giving of our time might mean giving something up for the benefit of others, but shouldn’t love be our top priority? God’s word says it is so. So go ahead start expressing love today – start giving your time!
