Real Clockwork

[HKHaugan]

Real Clockwork

 I’m sure you’ve heard the expression ‘running like clockwork.’ Dwell on that for a moment. As Paul called us to understand the need for love in ‘the present time (Rom.13:11),’ it seems to me that the fruit of the Spirit gives us the atmosphere in which to practice ‘clockwork.’ So, the first thing he wants us to do is understand what the present time is.  

 First, what does he mean by ‘the present time.’

Paul uses the Greek word kairos for time. It is not chronos, man’s time, clock and calendar time. It is kairos, God’s time, spiritual time. That’s the context in which we as disciples of Jesus operate. Spiritual time is when we have a choice and decision to make, when we pray, when we study the Word, when we meet someone, when we gather for worship. It’s the moment when we are called to live by faith and not by sight. This is the moment when we are called to be living sacrifices (Rom.12:1). This in no way says clock and calendar time are unimportant. It means when we make appointments, go to our jobs, order our days, set goals, we honor God and others in those chronos times by being on time. If I can turn a phrase; we honor our chronos times in the context of kairos, God’s time.

 Second, kairos timing gives us a sense of expectation.

When we see our time in a spiritual context, we are looking forward to what can happen next spiritually. We anticipate an opportunity to read every event in life from a spiritual perspective and see its meaning for us personally. When we see things spiritually, they become part of our testimony. They are insights we can share when the time is right. Jesus said any time (kairos) for us is right (Jn.7:6). He had a special kairos time, the Cross.

 Third, Jesus is the definition of timing.

Everything He did was timed perfectly. He set the meaning of time in place for all time. Spiritual timing is eternity in the present. When Jesus said, “Before Abraham was born, I am (Jn.8:59),” He made the present an eternal, therefore, a spiritual time. Every circumstance becomes subject to spiritual interpretation. Whether it is a crisis of immense proportion or facing some personal choice; for a disciple it can be read scripturally. Scripture is how we train ourselves to read our ‘spiritual clock,’ our life ‘time.’

 So, we read the fruit of the Spirit as the moments that provide us with the ability to handle a particular situation. Love is a moment, joy is a moment, peace is a moment, patience is a moment and so are kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Real timing is keeping in step with the Spirit (Gal.5:22-25). Therefore, the final question is about clockwork. We ask ourselves, “Is my spiritual clock keeping in step with the Spirit?”