What Time is It?

When we first moved to Thailand, we were studying the language in Bangkok. There weather was hot and humid all the time. Except when it was really hot and really humid. Sweating was unavoidable. And while I couldn't avoid having water dripping from all my pores 24 hours a day, I could at least attempt to not smell bad. Most days that meant taking at least two showers.

But sometimes, even after my shower, I still smelled bad. It took me a while to identify the culprit: my watchband.

My Little-Used Watch

 So I started washing the sweat out of my watch band every few days. But even that wasn't often enough. So after years of wearing a watch, I ditched the habit. I figured I could always check the time on my phone.

Not that it mattered a whole lot. Life in Thailand is a bit different than life in North America.  One of the things that we notice is that people, especially in rural areas, don't seem as time-conscious. Things happen when they happen. Many people are farmers or are self-employed. Time is not so much of a factor. You do things when they need to be done. Sometimes people sport large and/or fancy watches more as a fashion accessory. They may not even be functional.

As for my watch, it normally sits in a drawer in my bedside stand in Thailand until we go traveling out of the country.

It was the same way when we lived in Haiti many years ago. The people of Haiti, at least at the time we lived there, were not very time-conscious. They arrived at places when they got there. So it seemed ironic that one of the few English phrases people knew was, "What time is it?" People would ask us that question, often not knowing what it meant.

No Timepiece Needed
Le Marron Inconnu blew the conch to signal the right time
Port-au-Prince, Haiti

These days, if I hear the question, "What time is it?" I might respond, "Depends. Who's asking?" It's not because I might want to give a duplicitous answer to some people. It's just that in this day and age we find ourselves conversing with people all over the world scattered across time zones. The other day we were trying to join a Zoom meeting and for some reason we couldn't connect. Then we remembered that the meeting was in our time zone, whereas the Zoom meetings we usually arrange are one hour ahead of us. We had not been able to join the meeting because it hadn't started yet; we were an hour early.

Then there is the challenge of switching time zones. When we are in Thailand, we get used to subtracting 15 hours (or 14 during savings time) to calculate what time it is for our friends on the west coast of North America. But then we move back to the west coast, we need to remember to add 14 or 15 hours if we're making an appointment to meet our friends in Thailand online. And sometimes I get that messed up. (These days I get lazy and put things in Google calendar in the time zone of the person I'm communicating with and I let Google put it right time zone for me.)

Clock Tower in Chiang Rai
also a fashion accessory
(lighting is used to continually change the color)

Sometimes I wonder, since God exists outside of time, how does all this work for Him? How does God view time? If I ask God, "What time is it?", How would he reply? Is God's sense of time linear, or is it all kind of mixed up together? Fortunately, there are some references to time in scripture.

At Christmastime we celebrate something that happened at just the right time. As we read in Galatians 4:4 (NLT):

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.

A Timely Birth

Jesus came into the world at just the right point in history—at the right time. God somehow knew that the culmination of whatever things needed to happen had finally happened. It was time. Time for the Messiah to be born of a virgin in a humble birth witnessed by livestock and shepherds. But that was then, what about now? What time is it now?

According to the apostle Paul, now is the time of salvation. As we read in 2 Corinthians 6:2b (NIV):

I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

In this time period between when Jesus ascended to heaven and when Jesus will return again is the opportunity for living souls to receive salvation—it is the time for us to come to Jesus by faith and receive eternal life. When we die, it is too late. When Jesus returns, it's too late. Now is the time.

And one day, at just the right time, Christ will return:

For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. 1 Timothy 6:15 (NLT)

God, thank you for sending Jesus into the world at the right time. Each Christmas we celebrate an historical event that happened at the right point in history. And we thank you that in the meantime, we have opportunity to receive salvation. We also look forward to the time when Jesus will return again to this earth you made.