A topic I have written about in the past is “Game Management”
or “Clock Management” --- or event to the point of “Down Management” --- with
the idea of playing to win each down. By that I was simply teaching that each
snap of the ball matters… one can’t focus on the play before or the play after…
the job has to be done in the now…
I though about this over the past week as I have had the
opportunity to pour into some young men… to encourage them about the choices
they make in life. The reality is that most of us waste a lot of time… more
importantly, we waste a lot of opportunities!
Just like in a game, I want to learn to be more
intentional by being more attentional (yes, that is a word, I looked it up.)
There needs to be an attention to details to make the right “plays.”
Ephesians 5:16 states that the wise man will be “redeeming
the time…” (Intentional) This comes what verse 15 commands… to “walk circumspectly.”
(Attentional)
The other thing that prompted me to this point is the
reminders of life’s fleeting status… it truly flies by and we need to take
advantage of what opportunities we have. One of those reminders came from my
dear friend Freddie Coile, who is battling brain cancer, yet is still not only
preaching and doing his podcast but also still actively sharing the Gospel! And
in his last podcast I sensed even a sweeter spirit about wanting to take
advantage of time! (You should check out Focus on the Bible… Instagram =
focus_pod)
The other was a sweet poem I read this morning… written by
another dear friend that has been in a cancer battle… (that c-word tends to
make us think about time!) Her name is Chela, and her testimony and smile
throughout this battle is only understandable through the hope found in Jesus…
the confidence found in God’s grace… the urgency found in “redeeming the time”…
The Thing About Life (Chela Armstrong)
A moment, an hour, a day, a year.
The clock strikes crescendo within my
ear.
I’ve traveled, I’ve attained, I’ve
accomplished success.
Yet the question remains, is it all
meaningless?
Have you anything to show of the time
that was spent?
The days, they would blend as they
came and they went.
Regrets, are they heavy? Is there
something undone?
What’s the purpose of life under the
sun?
The thing I find curious; we live
without thought.
Innumerable pleasures! What else have
I sought?
Am i walking with Jesus? Am I holding
His hand?
Do I give up the intimacy for other
demands.
“There’s always tomorrow” but is that
really true?
What is there to offer when I finally
see you?
Will I cast any crowns as I worship
your name?
Or will smoke fill your nostrils as I
stand there ashamed?
Help me learn from the waste. Redeem
what was lost.
I want to lean in, no matter the cost!
I press towards my goal of that
heavenly prize.
I know it is worth it to look into
your eyes
To hear your kind voice as all else is
destroyed.
Well done, my daughter, now enter my
joy!
BE INTENTIONAL BY BEING ATTENTIONAL!