Making the Most of Moments
I read the following recently:
Life is made up of moments.
Moments create days.
Days create months.
Months create years.
Years create life.
Lose the moment and you lose Life.
While it’s true that “not to be missed moments” dot everyone’s life, for the follower of Jesus an even greater opportunity is given.
Consider these words that the Savior offered as He began His public ministry:
“The time has come. The Kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15)
Jesus spoke of how, with His incarnation, the Kingdom had come near. In Him, heaven was closer to earth than it had ever been. And He invited us to enter into that incredible opportunity.
In Jesus, heaven was closer to earth than it had ever been, and He invited us to enter into that incredible opportunity.
For most of my life, I read Jesus’ words and thought He was saying, “Here I am! The Kingdom of God is near. Come to me and be saved.”
I interpreted Jesus’ invitation as a once-in-a-lifetime offer. You’re walking along the highway of life when at a moment in time you hear and respond to Jesus’ invitation of eternal life. Then you just continue on until heaven.
But the details of this verse would seem to suggest that Jesus’ invitation is more than a one-time deal. That the relationship He offers is far more dynamic.
In the original language the verbs “repent” and “believe” in Mark 1:15 are present active imperative, which means they are “continuous action; habitual action; often reflective of a lifestyle.”
By contrast, the aorist tense indicates “a one-time action; a single action.” Jesus did not use the aorist here.
In using the present active imperative, Jesus was offering an ongoing relationship punctuated with moments not to be missed.
Kairos Moments
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near…”
There are two words in the Greek language for time:
chronos – sequential time: time of day, time of the month, etc.
kairos – a significant point in time that needs to be pondered
It is this second word that is used in Mark 1:15. These significant points in time when God wants to break into our world can be referred to as kairos moments. It’s as if the Lord is saying, “Don’t miss this. There’s something to be learned here.”
Kairos moments come in all shapes and sizes.
They can be large (the day you were married) or small (a glorious sunset).
They can be positive (the birth of a child) or negative (the loss of a job).
They can be affirming (the joy found in helping someone in need) or corrective (a chronic tendency to worry).
But the common denominator is that these moments leave an impact and would seem to be an invitation whereby God is calling you to learn more about Him or yourself. And in so doing to more fully enter the Kingdom as a disciple.
In the next post, we will consider ways in which you can “capture a kairos.” But, for now, begin to reflect on some events from recent days that seemed to mark you.
Kairos Questions
And ask yourself three questions:
What got my attention?
What do I think God is trying to say to me?
What am I going to do in light of what He is saying to me?
Ask yourself three questions: What got my attention? What do I think God is trying to say to me? What am I going to do in light of what He is saying to me?
These questions have given me a way whereby I’ve made the most of the moments. As you begin to normalize them in your daily walk, you will find that you can do likewise.
Heaven does really want to break in on earth. And if we’re alert enough to mark the moment and consider its implications, we might find ourselves taking a step forward in our maturity as disciples.
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