It Is Later than You Think

"The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light."

Romans 13:12 (NASB)

There was once a sundial that had an unusual inscription carved into it. Instead of the hour, it simply read: 'It is later than you think.' Travellers who passed it often stopped and stood quietly for a moment, struck by the simple weight of those words.

We have our own sundial. It is called the Word of God. And from the first page of Genesis to the final page of Revelation, it carries a consistent and urgent message: time is short. The night is nearly over. The Day is at hand.

Paul wrote to the Roman church in language charged with urgency. He was not writing to people who were living carelessly or obviously. He was writing to believers, people who were already following Christ. And he said to them: wake up. The hour has come. The salvation you are moving toward is nearer than when you first believed. Do not sleep through the most important time of your life.

I think this message is desperately needed in the church today. Not to generate fear or anxiety, but to create intentionality. We live in a culture designed to make us comfortable, to make us passive, to keep us entertained and distracted and satisfied with shallow things. And all the while, time passes.

What are you spending your days on? When your life is over and you stand before God, will the way you invested your hours reflect what you said you believed? There is a gap, for many of us, between the urgency of our stated beliefs and the casualness of our actual living.

Laying aside the deeds of darkness does not only mean dramatic sins. It also means everything that wastes the gift of a day. The time spent on nothing. The opportunities to love, to serve, to share Christ, that passed unnoticed because we were not paying attention.

It is later than you think. And the light is coming. Put on the armour. Make the day count.

Prayer: Lord, give me a sense of holy urgency about my life. Help me to number my days so that I may gain a heart of wisdom. Redeem the time I have remaining. Help me to make every day count for Your kingdom and Your glory. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Pastor Ras
All Nations Community Church

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