The Gift of Time

Genesis 1:26-27 NIV
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” ²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image.

Genesis 1:28 NLT
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

Every blessing is a divine .

Luke 12:48 NLT
When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.

Stewardship is the practice of living as ones: receiving, cultivating, and returning all of life to God in love.

What is the first thing God sanctified?:

Genesis 2:3 NIV
Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Time is the great where heaven meets earth.

“The higher goal of spiritual living is not to amass a wealth of information, but to enter sacred moments.” —Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath: It’s Meaning for Modern Man

If my time belongs to Jesus then—

1. I begin my days Him, not just Him.

Mark 1:35-37 NIV
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, ³⁷ and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

Psalm 5:3 NIV
In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

Question For Reflection:
What simple habit or routine could help me begin my day with God, not just for Him?

2. I less so I can more.

2 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
We will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us.

Ecclesiastes 4:6 NIV
Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.

Heaven often enters through the we leave open.

“The solution to an over-busy life is not more time. It’s to slow down and simplify our lives around what really matters.” —John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Question For Reflection:
What might I need to let go of so that I can live, and love, within the limits God has given me?

3. I every moment as .

Ephesians 5:16 MEV
See then that you walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of the time because the days are evil.

Ephesians 5:16 NASB
redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

“No moment is insignificant, because the God of eternity inhabits the ordinary.” —Tish Harrison Warren, Liturgy of the Ordinary

Question For Reflection:
What ordinary spaces or daily moments could become sacred if I showed up to them with awareness?

Hebrews 4:9 NIV
There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

Romans 5:6-8 NIV
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Answer Key: entrustment; entrusted; time; cathedral; with, for; “do”, live; margins; see, holy